Dream Girl
by Nicoletta Katherine
Summary: Whitney Parker is the Daughter of Morpheus. Her quiet, normal life is suddenly interrupted by one of the Furies, and she get's taken to Camp Half-Blood. To make things worse, she finds out she's an important part of the Great Prophecy. LukeXOC
1. I Find Out My Dad is a God

It was like any other normal day for me. I had gotten up, gotten dressed and headed off to school. It was late winter in the big apple and I still had to wear my coat and scarf.

My boots clicked lightly on the sidewalk as I walked the last few blocks to The New York Academy of the Arts. Usually people just refer to is as NYAA (Pronounced: Nee-yah). At least, that's how the morning announcements people put it. I know, strange.

Finally, I could see it within reach, just over the slight hill in the street. It's a huge, red brick building with that 1930's schoolhouse feel to it. The outside is kept pristine, not a single weed in the gardens nor a single plant dying. Everything looks so alive on the outside, bright and brilliant. And it was the same on the inside. Each class had its own unique feel and décor to it. In NYAA you can express yourself whichever way you want—provided it isn't _too_ "self-expressive". You know what I mean, like wearing mid-drift tops and short shorts.

The English classes have rows of bookshelves lining the walls, on a count of the fact that we don't have a library. The math rooms were filled to the brim with boxes of calculators and protractors that easily reach the low ceilings.

But still, it had a warm and inviting air about it. After all, it's been here in upper Manhattan _since_ the 1930's… or at least almost since then… maybe a little later on. Yeah, it's definitely not _that_ old.

As soon as I got to the enormous front steps saw my best friends, Emily Parson and Casey Passel. Casey's curly red hair popped against Emily's bleach-blonde waves. It was funny. My two best friends were total opposites. Well, basically we're all total polar opposites. There's me with my long wavy wheaty brown/blonde hair, Em with her bleach-blonde locks and Casey with her red frizz-ball made a pretty diverse-looking group of friends. I have the weirdest—although most say beautiful—gray eyes ever. They're the color of a dark grey pearl, and just as smooth-looking. Casey also has her strange specs, them being so black they're almost violet. Emily's are green, but not the same old green you'd expect. They were the color of sea foam, light and with a hint of blue. As for our skin, we all kept up with our tans and only Casey had freckles under her eyes and on her nose.

But not only are we amazingly diverse in looks, we have absolutely opposite personalities. Casey's the easy-going one, always calm during rough times. If something happens, she finds a way to relax everyone. Emily, on the other hand panics at the first sign of trouble or problems. And me, let's just say I have a pretty bad temper. My mom says I get it from her side of the family.

Emily's the "It-Girl" in school. Although, I must admit I come in at close-second. Casey doesn't really care about social status and tends to just go with the flow… as do I sometimes.

As for our personalities, it totally shows in our wardrobe. I waved up at them to see that Casey had on her usual Bohemian clothes on. Shades of brown and jade were present, along with lots of vintage jewelry. Emily flashed her bright white teeth and turned around to revel black leggings and a light pink sweater underneath a—you guessed it—pink coat.

And me, I prefer anything I like. You can't even put a name to my style. But for today I was somewhere in between preppy and casual with dark wash skinny jeans and a beige sweater, with a black patent leather bag to match the ankle boots.

"Hey!" I said, finally making it to the top of the stone stairs. They were right outside the front entrance.

"Hey! Oh I love your new bag!" Emily complimented.

I laughed and flashed a genuine smile, "Thanks! So, you guys ready for this week?" This week was immensely important. It was the week before scouting started; scouting for major dance companies, acting theatres and Record labels. They picked up in late February where they left off in November. A new circuit was starting in the world of showbiz.

"Totally," they both said in unison. The wind whipped at our faces. I felt my face going red.

"Uh—I think it's time to go inside." I suggested, looking up to see a dark snow cloud hovering over Manhattan. A blizzard seemed inevitable.

They nodded. "Yeah, sounds great." Em agreed.

We filed inside after everyone else, heading towards our lockers—which were conveniently placed in alphabetical order. Which meant it went: Parker (that's me), Parson, and Passel. That's how we got lined up in every class we had together too. It's actually how we all met.

As for the lockers, they were all utterly and completely humongous. They were all painted bright red and two feet wide by five feet high. They easily fit all of our dance bags and even had hangers for our outfit bags.

And everyone's was completely different, decorated in his or hers own style and way. And since there were only 150 of us in this whole school there was plenty room for these big lockers.

My lock clicked open after I did the combo and I grabbed my Jazz bag. Jazz class was the perfect way to start off the day. It kept my mind and body awake when I was groggy in the mornings. Sometimes it felt as though I couldn't sit still. My mom calls it ADHD. I say it's natural dancer's instinct.

"You got Jazz first, right Whitney?" Casey asked, yanking her bag out of the locker. She was taking an array of acting classes. Emily takes singing and piano.

"Yep," I confirmed, checking my phone for messages. And sure enough my Blackberry had a new message…

_One New Message_

_From: Mommy_

_I mite b a bit late 2nite, b safe, I heard theres a storm brewing_

I texted her back.

_K._

"Oh… so you have that new assistant teacher, Ms. Danielle?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah I heard about her!" Em exclaimed. "Isn't she like—a professional or something? Like she used to work for Broadway?"

"Oh yeah! Heard she's amazing!" Casey squealed back.

I left them to their girlish gossip, shouldering my bag and starting off down the hall. As I was passing by the huge window at the very end of the hallway I saw it had started to snow harder. Everyone was stopping at the glass, staring out in awe. The snow looked blinding. People were calling their parents, ready for rides home early. But I knew that we weren't getting out of school early.

Later that day I was sitting down with the girls in the cafeteria when I saw that new teacher staring at me. It was weird. She had been staring all during class too. It looked as though she wanted to… well… kill me or something.

"Hey guys… that new teacher is _really_ freaking me out. Like, she won't stop staring at me. Even in class." They looked to where I had glance and shot their heads back.

"Okay now _that_ is just creepy, Whitney." Emily stated. "She didn't even look away when we stared back at her."

I sighed looking up to the glass ceiling of the Café to see that it was still snowing. Hard. "Things are getting pretty strange around here… freak snow storms? Weird teachers? I don't know you guys…"

"Hey, what are you lookin' at, Passel?" An all too familiar voice came from the table beside me. Taylor Anderson, a blonde that had quite similar attributes like Emily was sneering across me at Casey. These two had been fighting since they were about five.

Emily and I usually never got involved, but I was in no mood for her smart mouth today, and you_ don't_ want to make me angry.

"Obviously not you, Anderson." I said blandly, looking up at the ceiling again.

"Excuse me?" She scoffed.

I rolled my eyes, turning my gaze back on her. "Can't you ever go a day without starting something?" I spoke my opinion. Nothing _ever_ stopped me from doing that.

"You better watch your step, Parker." She threatened.

"And what if I don't?" I asked sarcastically.

"_Or else_ you'll be hearing some pretty nasty things going around school… about you." She spat.

"Really? Like the stuff already going around about you?" My tone stayed cool calm and just plain bored-sounding. But she was getting angry. I could tell. And if she said the wrong thing I would unleash my anger too.

"Uhh!" She exclaimed. Her four minions snickered in the background like I was in deep shit.

Again, my sarcasm got the better of me.

"Oh. I'm so scared." It came out just the way I wanted it to, and hell did it hit the wrong note with her. She let out a frustrated huff, getting up and starting to strut off in her high heels.

And then, something strange occurred. The next thing I knew, she was on the floor unconscious. But she didn't look like she'd hit her head, she looked like she had fallen asleep.

I had no clue what happened. One minute I was staring at her, just wanting _something_ embarrassing to happen to her… anything really…

My eyes widened…

I turned back to Casey and Emily casually. They were staring at me like I was crazy.

"What just happened?" I asked.

They shrugged and ate the rest of their lunch silently.

I was just about to round a corner to go out the doors and head home when I heard voices. Emily and Casey. They were talking in a low whispering tone, making it hard for me to hear.

"Well it's taken her long enough."

"I can't believe she lasted this long."

"Sixteen going on seventeen is old for a demi—."

"—don't! Say the word. That teacher looked at her the wrong way." Emily was talking in an unusually smart voice. Normally she would just be saying 'like' all the time.

"Yeah. We ought to check her out. She doesn't look right."

"—could be a Kindly One."

"Oh don't even say that!"

I heard footsteps nearing and hide in the nearest janitor's closet. But then, I heard something that definitely wasn't footsteps. A low growling voice that sounded like it could kill echoed through the otherwise empty hallway. I silently peeked out of the crack in the door to see Ms. Danielle cornering my two best friends into a wall.

"Where is she?" She demanded.

"She went home!" Casey choked out.

"Gamoto (Damnit) you satyrs! Where does the girl live?" He yelled. Thank god there was no one left in school. His voice was booming. Not only that, but now my best friends were being choked. The scary part was… I had understood what he said… that first word… it was foreign. But for some reason I knew it meant Damnit. But what language…?

Greek! That's it! It was Greek! But how the hell did I know that? I'm dyslectic for gods' sake! I'm not good in world languages… or English for that matter of the fact. That's why I liked dancing… no hard reading or writing.

But the words were so clear in my mind…

"Fifth avenue apartments! West side!" Emily choked out. She lied. I lived in the Manhattan Sky View Apartments… East side.

Without another word he darted down the hallway, but not before sprouting… wings?

Wait a second… Wings? What kind of insane hallucination was I having?

As soon as he was gone I emerged out of the closet. Em and Case were holding their necks.

"_What the hell was that?_" I exclaimed.

Their heads shot up. "And, what's a satyr? Why did that guy sprout wings? What's going on? _Why_ did he want _me_?" They stared at me in shock. Pure, unfiltered shock.

"Shit." Em muttered under her breath. She exchanged a look with Casey.

I felt myself hyperventilating, fighting to keep my knees from buckling at what I just saw. I looked down at my hand. I was shaking.

"Uh… Whitney… I think it's better if we explain later…" Casey started.

"…but right now we gotta run." Em finished.

They grabbed me, basically pulling me out of the school. We moved swiftly down the stairs. I struggled to keep a hold on my bag. We burst out onto the sidewalk, which had a light coat of snow. I almost slipped a few times.

"Where are we going?" I was panicking and desperate for answers. Meanwhile I saw Casey dialing on her cell phone. "Tell me you're calling the police?" I begged.

"Uhm hi, Miss. Parker… we gotta problem." She confessed as we pushed through the crowds of Manhattan.

"You called my mother?" My voice was stressed and high-pitched.

Emily hit me on the arm, making me shut up. I had no idea what was going on. What was this? A conspiracy theory against me?

"—another one showed up… at school… okay… bye." She hung up. "Your mom's coming home. She's going to meet us at your apartment. Then you're packing and leaving."

"Woah, woah, woah! Wait a second there! I can't just leave!" I shouted. People were staring as we pushed farther through the crowd, dashing across a crosswalk—almost getting hit by a car along the way.

"Sure you can. We've made sure you can." Emily said.

"We've got lots to talk about." Casey stated.

"Wait what?" The rest of the walk—or fast walk—to my apartment was silent. All we did was basically run.

Once we got to the door I struggled to get my key into the lock. Finally I stuck the key in, from my shaky hand. I was still trembling.

We filed inside. I threw my key in the bag. Casey ran into my room. I struggled to follow her. She threw open my closet, searching for something.

"_What_ are you doing?" I yelled. She turned around, holding my old camping backpack. It was black with yellow detailing. Such as, the zipper pulls were bright neon yellow—my favorite color.

"Put some extra clothes and stuff in here! Quick!" She threw it at me. I barely caught it by the string hanging from the strap. I stood still though, not able to get over the initial shock of all this.

"Why?" I asked plainly.

"Just do it." She commanded. The look in her eyes made me believe that this matter was life or death… or that my best friend was just plain psychotic.

And so I did. I packed a few pairs of extra shirts and pants.

Five t-shirts, a jacket (I had my coat on me now), a pair of sneakers, three pairs of jeans and one pair of jean shorts—I still don't know why I bothered to pack them, I guess I mistaken them for jeans.

I stuffed in my… uh… feminine products (plenty for the next month), a toothbrush, toothpaste, a hair brush, a mini bottle of shampoo, a few precious and sentimental pieces of jewelry and the contents of my patent leather bag into the pack.

When I zipped it and we headed out to the kitchen my mom walked in—or more of ran in—looking quite shaken.

"Whitney Virginia Parker! Sweetheart, are you okay?" She rushed over, embracing me in a hug that was _so_ unlike my mother. I knew something was wrong when she used my full name. She'd named me after her hometown: Whitney. Her home state: Virginia (Where she won Miss. Virginia and came runner up in the Miss. USA pageant in 1985). Whitney Virginia Parker. Yep, that's me.

"Yeah mom," I shrugged her off. "But what's going on?" I sounded like a whiny seven year-old.

She glanced at Casey and Emily. "It's best if we explain in the car, dear." She stalled the explanation even further. We rushed out to the car.

Once we were in, Emily and Casey both in the back seat with me in the middle, I asked again.

"Will someone _please_ explain what the hell is going on?" I shouted. Like I said, you _don't_ want to get me mad.

"Honey, it's about your father." She said hesitantly. _Oh great, another talk about dear old dad…_

I rolled my eyes as she continued.

"He—he's not exactly normal… you see… he's a God." I stared at her for a long time. There was silence. And then—don't ask me why but—I burst out laughing. But my laughter died as Em and Case looked at me seriously. My mother gave me the look. I blinked.

"Are you kidding me? Mom, it's hard enough for me to believe that there's a god, let alone that my father _is one_…" I looked to my friends… "You're all going insane."

"No, Whitney. He's not the only God. He's one of twelve."

"Wait… you mean like… twelve Greek…" my voice drifted off.

"Yes, one of the Greek Gods." Casey confirmed. My mouth dropped open again. No. no way.

"Well… which one?" I asked her. She looked at me sadly.

"We won't know until you're claimed. But you're bound to be a child of someone powerful, right Miss. P?" She asked my mother. My mother didn't even know my father's name?

She nodded.

"Mom, are you saying that you don't even know my father's name?" I asked, frustrated with everything at the moment. "And… what do you mean—."

"—someone… not an Olympian… a Titan." Emily butted in.

"You mean like, the Gods that came before the Olympians?"

"Mhm," Casey said, "Those Titans."

"So we've got a hunch it's one of them." Emily admitted.

I sighed, leaning back and plopping my head against the cushion of my mom's silver Honda CR-V. I took it all in, still not believing it. I have to see to believe. This was why I was a self-proclaimed nothing-ist. I'm not atheist. But I just need an explanation for everything, which make understanding religions hard for me.

We crossed over the Washington Bridge and started over towards Long Island. It was a two hour drive. It was silent.

Once we hit a deserted old dirt road my mom started to talk again.

"Whitney… _you_ are a demigod." She blurted out.

I stared at her. "You mean… like… half-god, half-human?"

"Correct." Casey butted in. "I see _you've_ been paying a little more attention in English." (We had been studying _The Odyssey_, which led my English teacher, Mrs. Hardy, to go on a rant about Greek myths).

I nodded. "Yeah I just didn't think those lessons were life or death matters to me! But what the hell was that thing called 'Ms. Danielle' back there?" I asked again.

Emily spoke up. "_That_ was a Kindly One."

"A Fury?" I asked.

"Shhh!" She shushed me. "We don't use names unless we absolutely_ have_ to. Got it? Names are powerful things."

"Powerful things? Are you kidding me?"

"No."

There was no sign of joking in her voice. It occurred to me that she was being _dead_ serious. And I was _still_ processing all of this. So if a God was my father… and I was a demigod… that would explain all the monsters… but…

"If I'm a child of someone big—like you think—wouldn't monsters be more attracted to me? Why haven't they been showing up before this?"

"They have." Casey confirmed. "_We've_ just been killing them before they could get to you. How you made it to sixteen years old is beyond me!" She confessed.

"Yeah, most demigods are killed by fourteen." Emily mentioned.

"But your mom did an excellent job of covering up your scent. That's why your room smells different every week. She changes your scent to screw with the monsters. And then, we take care of the ones that wander upon you… it's just a miracle that we didn't have to take you to camp before this."

"Wait, what camp?" I interrupted.

"Camp Half-Blood. It's a place for kids like us."

I paused for a second, as we stopped on the side of the road.

"You mean… you guys really have…"

"Goat legs?" Emily answered, "Yeap."

"Okay, come on girls," my mom called out. We jumped out of the car, landing on the hard ground that was covered in a fresh light coat of snow. I was already cold as the freezing wind whipped my face. I felt my cheeks turning red with cold. My wheaty hair blew around wildly, whipping my face as hard as the wind.

"Honey, I won't be able to pass through the magic that protects the property line." She said. Sadness was heavy in her voice. She hugged me so tight I was losing air.

"Uhm—mom?" I choked out.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized, kissing me cheek and pulling back. "Be safe. Send me letters." She smiled.

"Okay… I love you mom." I said while she was getting into the car.

She turned her head to smile lovingly at me, as if she had a flashback of my father. "I love you too sweetheart."

We stood and watched as she pulled back onto the deserted road and headed back towards New York.

"She wanted us to give you this." Emily's voice sounded behind me. I turned around to see her holding a gold bracelet with a charm that looked like a sword. "It's a gift from your father." She dropped it in my open palm.

"Press in that little button on the sword." Casey smiled. I did. And then, it wasn't exactly little anymore. It had turned into a full-fledged sword in a matter of a few mere milli-seconds. I almost dropped it out of shock. I had _never_ held a sword before. My eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. They grinned, arms crossed and pants off, exposing their uh, goaty-ness. At that I jumped back even more. They laughed.

Casey held out yet another bracelet with another charm on it. It was a shield. I hesitated on grabbing it from her hand, clenching my sword in the other.

"No way." I muttered. She nodded.

I pushed the button on the shield and sure enough, it came to life. It was a bronze shield with various designs on the front. I looked down at the sword. It was a bronze color and double-edged with had a brown-leather grip. There was detailing along the blade. I looked closer as my two friends watched on excitedly.

"Fine piece of craftsmanship," Casey spoke up.

Emily nodded with an, "Mhm."

And then, I heard something _very_ unnerving. It was a sound that they heard too. Their heads perked up. We looked about the snowy white forest. There was silence again. The trees looked black against the brilliant snow that covered half the branches. I could barely tell the difference between trees and monsters. So how we were supposed to see him?

"I smell a monster." Emily warned. "Come on, let's go!" She yelled as we started to run. But running with a sword and shield was hard, even on my high-metabolizing and healthy dancer's body. But I ran as fast as I could to try and keep up with them. They were like lightning. I couldn't believe these were the same people that got excused from gym for having 'weak joints'. _Hah, weak joints my ass._

My heart stopped as I heard a screech behind me. We stopped dead, turning around slowly. And sure enough, there bathing in the glow of the almost risen moon was Ms. Danielle in her Fury form. I glanced at Emily and Casey, who were staring in shock.

"How did she track us?" Emily asked, speechless.

"I have no clue but we better run!" Casey's voice had gotten increasingly panicked.

With that we darted onto the trail again, weaving through the dense collections of trees and bushes. Ms. Danielle was trying to keep up by flying, but her wings kept hitting the trees. And so she ran. I heard her screeching and screaming behind us.

"Look! There's the entrance to the camp!" Emily was pointing to an archway that said _Ήμισυ Αίμα Στρατόπεδο (Half blood Camp)_

"Come on!" Casey yelled over the monster's screeching. We ran as fast as we could, but just as we were about to cross the border line I got tripped by a clawed foot. My first instinct was to swing the sword. But I missed. I held the shield up as his claws scratched against it and tried to swing again. But just as I hit her, she hit me too, with a blow to the mid-section. I keeled over in pain as she slowly faded to dust, disappearing with the wind.

I fully collapsed just as Casey and Emily ran over to me. I felt the warmth of blood seeping through my black coat. They picked me up and I yelped in pain. My hand clutched the three big gashes in my abdomen. They weren't deep, but I was bleeding a lot, I could tell.

"Come on, we have to get her to the big house. Chiron will be there." Their voices weren't clear. Everything sounded as if I was being held underwater. My eyesight got blurry, but I wasn't fainting. No, I wasn't passing out yet.

But were they talking about _the Chiron?_ The one from the story of Hercules and everything? My mind was spinning, my head throbbing. I don't know how long it took us to get to 'the big house', but they got me there.

I listened carefully to the conversation.

"Chiron!" Emily shouted. "Mr. D!"

I heard two grumbled, 'what's?

And then, one voice got increasingly more concerned. I heard a gasp from a third person.

"There was a Fury, except this time it tracked us. Chiron it was _in_ the school." Casey said solemnly. I felt them laying me on a bed, and taking off my coat and scarf. I still clutched my side. I saw five figures now: Emily and Casey, an old-looking bearded man, another guy with a chubby face and dark curly hair, and a younger kid with short blonde hair. I couldn't make out all the features, but I knew he was young and those other two men were pretty old.

Chiron reached down a pulled my hand away from the gashes. I winced and made a noise. The blonde one reached down and put a hand to my forehead.

"She's getting cold." His voice was so soothing at that moment in time. It was unlike the worried, scruffy voice of the bearded man's and not overly-stressed like my friends'. It almost calmed me down a bit, until I figured out what that meant: I was losing blood. Fast.

"Quick, get some…" I have no clue what items he said, but they sounded Greek. But by that time I was nearing a total blackout.

I felt my shirt being lifted up. _Oh great, now they get to look at my abs. Two old guys and—what looks like—a pretty cute boy are going to get a great look at me._

The blonde one and my friends sucked in a breath at my injury.

The last thing I remembered was seeing a worried look on that boy's face.

Luke stared down at the injured girl. There were three pretty nasty-looking cuts on her stomach. They weren't that deep. But he could tell that they hurt.

Without thinking he touched the scar on his face, knowing full well that the girl would have the same scars for a long time before they started to disappear. It was sad too, because had there not been three big gashes there she would have looked like a Goddess herself. Of course, all half-bloods have immortal beauty, but everyone's different with their beauty. And this girl, could even possibly top Aphrodite's kids. Her hair was a wheaty light brown and so soft when he touched it. He didn't get a good look at her eyes, but he caught a glimpse of them. They were gray, but not the gray you would expect. They weren't gray like his friend, Annabeth's. Hers were stormy and unclear. This girl had light gray eyes the likeness of pearls. The Irises looked smooth. And, her face was immaculate, no scars or acne. Nothing. The skin was pure and glowing a light tan shade.

"Is she gonna make it, Luke?" Emily asked him. He had just helped Chiron bandage her and give her some Ambrosia. She was sound asleep now, eyelids not even twitching.

He nodded, sitting back in his chair beside the bed. Her friends were sitting opposite from him on the other side. "Yeah, she'll be fine… it'll take her a few days to recover though."

This girl was tough though, he could tell. And somehow she reminded him of Thalia. She was strong, and didn't even blackout right away. She fought it, that's for sure. Her hair was lighter and brownish, unlike Thalia's black hair… and it was worn long and wavy… unlike Thalia's black spikes that came to just above her shoulders.

"What's her name again?" He asked Emily and Casey. They looked at each other.

"Well, her real name is Whitney—Whitney Parker."

He smiled, "Oh."

_Whitney Parker… quite a strong girl._


	2. It Finally Begins to Sink In

***A/N: I probably should have mentioned in the first chapter that this begins in the February before Percy comes to camp in June… Oh and I literally just figured out that I didn't put line breaks in where the POV changes :P forgive me? And, as I say in my bio, please forgive those nasty typos too :] Anyways, back to the story!***

It was a day later and around nine in the morning when I started stirring. I rustled the sheets and tried to turn but winced in pain due to the bandages on my mid-section. I realized I was in fresh new clothes. They felt clean and nice against my skin.

"Mrm." Don't ask me where that noise came from, I was just annoyed. I saw that blonde boy from last night lean in closer as my eyelashes fluttered open. I squinted. Everything was bright and sunny. My vision was still blurry.

Casey and Emily walked into the room though. Believe me, I know my friends when I see them. When I saw them I finally realized what had happened last night. I snapped out of my daze, remembering the Fury… what my mom told me… and what they had told me. My eyes shot open and I tried to sit up, getting dizzy in the process. The boy caught me just in time.

"Woah there," he smiled warmly, helping me sit up against the pillows.

"Emily? Casey?" I asked groggily. "Wha—Where am I?" I locked eyes with him, resisting the urge to blush. Our faces were so close.

"Who—who are you?" She asked in a strange distant voice.

"My names Luke—Luke Castellan, Son of Hermes and camp leader." He smiled, flashing bright white teeth. His ice-blue eyes almost twinkled. But they twinkled with something else bsides happiness… maybe a little bit of mischief. He had short blonde hair… and kind of reminded me of a surfer dude.

I smiled back, "Nice to meet you… I'm guessing they already told you my name?" I laughed a little, glancing towards the girls.

They giggled.

"Of course," Emily said, "We couldn't let him take care of some mystery girl."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Luke took care of you." Casey explained.

Emily laughed, "Wouldn't leave your side the whole day afterwards."

I felt my face get hot. He took care of me? It was such a sweet notion. I turned to look at him again. He wasn't blushing, just smiling like it was nothing.

"Well… thanks," I managed to say bashfully. This was so unlike _I'm_ the one initiating the flirting. Why was I blushing? This kid couldn't be any different than the guys at NYAA… Okay, so maybe he's a little less gay and a little more manly, but still.

"Here, eat this, it'll help you feel a lot better." Casey handed me what looked like a tiny piece of chocolate.

I raised my eyebrows at her, in my usual doubtful way. "That's chocolate, Case," I officially thought she was going crazy. Chocolate would do nothing for me. However, a trip to a real doctor might…

The three glanced at each other. "I guess we should have filled you in a little more on Greek healing… it's ambrosia," she explained. I took it from her open palm, staring at it like it was a nasty bug.

I cautiously bit down on the square, and instantly got a taste of milk chocolate. A smile worked its way across my face. I suddenly remembered that I hadn't eaten since lunch at school.

"Well… it still tastes like chocolate," I laughed. Emily left the room. We all heard her calling Chiron in.

I heard horse hooves clopping on the wood floor. And sure enough, he appeared in the doorway in full horse form. I stared. He smiled like it was normal.

"Finally awake, I see." He chuckled warmly, kind of reminding me of Santa Claus. "Good. Do you feel any better?"

"Yeah a little thanks. But, uh, my side still hurts." I could barely talk, staring at his—literally—horse's ass. He walked over to stand next to Luke.

"Ah yes, we bandaged that up but you should be good in about a day or two." He assured me. Somehow, I felt safe again. Maybe it was his voice, or cheery Santa-like grin. Either way, I wasn't really nervous anymore.

"So… about my father… how will I know when I'm claimed?" I asked curiously. I was a bit nervous to ask. Chiron opened his mouth, ready to answer when the guy with curly black hair and a chubby face walked in. He wore a tiger striped Hawaiian shirt and board shorts. It didn't seem quite like the attire of a teacher of heroes. So, I silently deducted that Chiron did more of the teaching. This man had the face of a cherub and looked like he had been drinking some pretty heavy vodka or beer. But, he held a can of Dr. Pepper in his hand. Still, it was obvious this guy was no stranger to alcohol.

Chiron exchanged a glance with Luke.

"You'll know," Chiron said simply. The cherub guy was standing next to him now.

Luke spoke up. "Someone will be pointing above your head like an idiot," he laughed, looking at Emily and Casey. "And then they'll tell you who your Dad is… that is if they aren't too shocked."

"Oh. That sounds… wonderful." My voice said I obviously didn't think it would be.

The cherub guy shifted a little, looking at Chiron, then back at me. "Feeling better I see… ah, Winter, is it?"

"Uh… it's Whitney, sir." Somehow I figured that I better not get him the least bit mad. He looked like the kind of teacher to get pissed off if you didn't treat him with respect… either that, or the angry alcoholic side of him appeared.

"Oh, sorry." He apologized, even though he didn't seem sorry. "So… is she the newest addition to the brat pack?" He asked Chiron. She looked to Luke, giving him an odd stare. All he did was chuckle lightly like it was the norm.

"I wouldn't be saying that Dionysus. She might be another one of you close relatives."

"Oh as if it matters," he said blandly. "I'm related to all those little annoyances out there in at least one way, shape or form."

"Wait," I butted in, "You're Dionysus?" I asked. "And… I might be related to you?" This whole situation was getting crazier by the minute.

"Yes, of course. I don't see anyone else named Dionysus these days… and yes, sadly most of the campers are," He admitted. I couldn't believe it. _I_ of all people was in the presence of a God. But then again, Luke and my friends acted like seeing him was totally ordinary.

There was an awkward moment of silence. I looked about the room and saw another strange sight. There was a… I don't really know if I should call it a man… Okay, there was a _thing_ standing in one corner of the room. There were billions of eyes all over its body. I quickly looked away, knowing that it could probably see me staring.

"Alright, so how about we show you around?" Emily's voice broke the silence.

I nodded towards her with a smile, "Yeah that'd be great." I started to sit up more, swinging my legs off the side of the bed.

I managed to hold the dizziness back. Luke grabbed my arm anyway. And, I did a pretty damn good job at hiding the pink tint in my cheeks at that moment. He put one arm around my waist; he held my hand with the other. Chiron chuckled a little. His smile got bigger. I got the sense he loved seeing girls go nuts for Luke. It was probably entertaining, I can understand that. My friends giggled like idiots in the background. Obviously they liked him, but I doubted he wanted to date girls with fur from the waist down.

And so, I took my first step in what I predicted was a day or more. With his arms holding me I slowly steadied myself. It was great. However, the stare we were receiving from Dionysus wasn't so great. It felt a bit strange being stared at by a God… while I was being held by some cute guy I just met two minutes ago.

We worked their way slowly through the 'big house'. The whole time Luke's eyes never strayed from my face. Truth be told, I was kind of afraid to look up at him, thinking I'd act like an idiot and blush again. _Stupid hormones!_ Once we were on the porch, Chiron had left with Mr. D and we were left alone again.

"Well, I would love to stay and show you around too, but I've got some classes to teach… and I better go make sure my cabin isn't completely destroyed." His voice sounded genuinely sad that he had to leave me. It was cute.

He let go of me, sadly gazing down at my face, now lit up by the morning sun.

"You're a teacher?" I asked. He didn't look that old… maybe nineteen? Yeah. That's about right.

He laughed, flashing that brilliant smile again. "Yeah, I'm a counselor, not really a full-fledged teacher yet."

"Oh… well, see you later then." I mustered up the courage to talk. It was then that I realized that he had a pretty deep scar on his face. It ran from beside his left eye, down to just above his lip. She wondered what that was from… at any rate he was still hot though. He noticed her looking and almost looked away. But everyone stared, so he was pretty used to it

"Yeah, I hope so." The girls giggled as he threw me a smile and walked off.

"Bye Luke!" They said in unison, smiling from ear to ear.

He turned his head as they giggled and waved. And of course they giggled some more. As soon as he was out of ear shot they started gabbing and _would not stop._

"Oh. My Gods! Luke Castellan actually took care of you!" Emily squealed. I thought for a second about the amused expression on Chiron's face if he was hearing their girlish talk…

"Yeah! He like, _would not_ leave your side all day and night. He even went out and got your sword and shield for you!" Casey giggled.

I laughed carelessly. "What's the big deal about that kid?"

They looked at her with wide eyes, like she asked something she shouldn't have.

"Have you seen him? Or did that blood loss affect your eyesight too?" Emily asked. I didn't think it was a rhetorical question.

"He's gorgeous, for one thing…"

"And that scar gives him the total badass look that _every_ demigod girl loves… come to think of it human girls love it too…"

"Yeah, _and_ you should see him shirtless—."

"Or when he's fighting!"

"And we've _never_ seen him look at someone—."

"—let alone a _girl_—."

"—like that!"

For a moment I stood there, taking their words in. They were crazy.

"What? Is the whole camp crazy for him?"

"Exactly. But don't worry, you've got absolutely no competition." Casey smiled. "I've never seen him act like that around a girl."

"Yeah I swear I saw him blush!" Emily gushed.

"Alright guys, can we just get on with this tour please?" I laughed again. This seemed to be getting better and better.

"Of course!" Emily said excitedly, leading me down the stairs. Everything hurt for me now. Walking made the cuts chafe against my bandage. Sitting down meant I probably couldn't slouch. The bandage would keep me sitting up, since it wrapped all the way around my mid-section.

I mumbled and winced in pain, finally getting to the bottom.

"Okay, easy there." Casey warned. "We're gonna take it slow, okay? You _don't_ wanna rip those cuts open again."

"Yeah, they're nasty to heal after that." Emily added.

"Well," I laughed, "I've never really been hurt this badly before… just a cut from a kitchen knife… I needed a few stitches on my hand."

I held out my hand. On the top there was a white scar, stretching from knuckle to knuckle across all four of them.

"Hah!" Emily laughed. "Well, if you can take this without a blink like you did yesterday, I think you can handle any injury."

I laughed, "Thanks, Em."

But by this time I was just interested in eating… and not just Ambrosia. I needed a double cheeseburger or something. My fast metabolism doesn't do well on a day without food.

We passed by a volleyball pit. People stopped and stared for a little before going back to their game. I heard them whispering. No doubt they were talking about me. I looked down. I was dressed in a light blue v-neck t-shirt and dark wash jeans. I now had sneakers on. My waist looked _way_ skinnier with the bandage tight around it under my shirt. Emily saw me staring down.

"Yeah, we had to change your clothes. Your old ones are being washed right now." She explained to me. I nodded with and 'Oh.'

Most of the campers were my age. Some were a little younger. But most looked about fifteen/sixteen/seventeen. Some of the older ones walked around with orange shirts that said _Camp Half-Blood_.

There were Satyrs about Emily and Casey's age. Even though they looked a lot older. But I knew that was because they age slower than mortals and demigods.

Some stared as we walked by, like they were waiting for that sign of who my father was. I wasn't normally intimidated, being in dance competitions all the time, but these guys were intense. I had a feeling they took camp _way_ too seriously.

I looked back at the Big House. It was painted a calming shade of blue, kind of like my shirt and had white trim for detailing. It looked a lot bigger now that I was looking at it from the outside. And, in a way, it sort of reminded me of my family's condo in Florida.

It brought back good memories of summers spent carelessly running about the beach with my cousins, Lilly, Riley and Mason. But now, I realized that all that was lost. I would _never_ have a truly normal life again. Forget even a normal vacation. No, I would probably be too busy protecting my family from being attacked by Furies and Hell Hounds.

Emily and Casey led me through the strawberry fields, showing me the juiciest berries I had ever seen in my life. There were people picking them, and a satyr about our age (a guy) playing a tune on a wind pipe. He waved to Em and Casey. They smiled and said hello.

"The strawberries are how we pay for the expenses. They get shipped out to fancy restaurants and Mount Olympus. They're the juiciest ones around… thanks to Mr. D." I gave Em a confused look.

Casey jumped in. "He has this amazing affect on the strawberries that makes them grow like crazy. His kids do too, they help grow them."

"Wait, so… there _is_ an actual place… mount Olympus?" I asked quietly, feeling stupid for asking such a question.

She nodded with a smile. "Mhm, we've been there once before on a camp trip during the winter solstice. It's beautiful. The entrance to it is at the Empire State Building. It's on the six-hundredth floor." She said it like it was nothing unusual.

"What? But there's no—."

"—oh no, trust me there is." She assured. I laughed, not sure of what she meant. What was there? A highway to heaven?

As we walked past another satyr I realized that while he was playing the music the bugs in the field were scattering like New Yorkers in a blizzard.

We walked on silently, going through a little patch of forest. Though, it wasn't any less denser than the one we had trekked through to get to camp. The trees were amazingly tall and the trunks probably topped the California Red-Woods in size by a good two feet. They were huge.

_And_ on top of that, they were really close together, except for where there was a tiny path for people to walk through.

A lot more people passed by us, staring as usual. I felt like the new kid at school, and maybe, just maybe, the misfit.

"The woods are stocked with magical game. You can sometimes try your luck. But no one ventures in there alone." Emily warned me.

Casey added, "Yeah, you'll see Friday night. We have capture the flag and madness usually ensues." She laughed a bit.

Oh great, madness, just what I need right now… well today was… wait what _was _the date today?

"Uhm… what day is it today?" I asked with a little nervous laugh.

"Oh! Yeah I forgot you were knocked out for a while there." Emily said, realizing it. "It's Wednesday, remember? Monday we left. Tuesday all day you were out cold."

"Oh." I felt kind of better knowing I would have a few days to recover before that so-called madness ensued.

We went by a brick building.

"That's the armory." _Oh yeah, because every normal camp has an armory. Yeah, totally. This is gonna take some time to get used to._ I thought.

We went by the shooting range and stables.

"Apollo's kids are aces with the bow… I wonder if you'd be any good…" Casey drifted into thought.

"Yeah, and you get your own pegasi at the stables. There's one for each and every camper… I think we should check it out…" Emily pulled me towards the red-painted barn. I got a whiff of what could only be the good old stench of horse crap. But wait a second… did she actually just say pegasi? As in the winged horses?

"Woah, whoa, whoa, wait one second! Did you just say pegasi? As in those winged horses?"

She nodded. "Mhm, they're the descendents of Pegasus. They're his off-spring and relatives."

There were neighs and whinnies as we entered. I tucked a piece of brown hair behind my ear, realizing something. I turned to Casey and Emily.

"Where's my backpack?" I panicked.

"Oh, don't panic." Casey said. "I have it right here." She lifted it off her shoulder to show me. I let out a relieved sigh.

"Oh. Thanks." I laughed at my stupidity. My friends would take care of me.

We walked down the rows of stalls in the gigantic stable. There were about three or four stables that had horses without name plates that claimed who they belonged to.

I saw a white one down at the end and immediately went over to it. It was pure white with black hair for the mane and tail. The wings were black. It was the strangest, most beautiful horse I had ever seen. And, I saw it was next to Luke's.

His name plate said,

_Owner: Luke Castellan_

_Son of Hermes & Camp Leader_

_Whippet_

Interesting name for a horse. It was tan and had white patches about it. The wings were pure white. The mane and tail were white. I guessed every horse was unique to fit their owner. And that white and black pegasi was drawn towards me. I started to pet it on the snout.

"Looks like we got a winner." Emily joked.

"Hah, I knew you'd go for that one, Whit." Casey said. "That's Blanca." She's been in here for about a year. But every camper that's walked in didn't like her. I guess it's the weird color variation."

I smiled as she rubbed her head against my hand. "I don't care. I like her."

"Well then…" They stared at the name plate that started to warp. Letters starting to appear. I looked closer. Sure enough the gold plate said,

_Owner: Whitney Parker_

_Daughter of _

_Blanca_

It kind of saddened me that the plate didn't say my father's name. It made me feel a bit neglected again. Maybe he didn't _want_ to claim me.

Em snapped me out of it.

"Hey! Cheer up! I'm sure he'll claim you soon. And when he does, his name will appear on the plate." She insisted with a cheery smile. In this instance you couldn't possibly stay sad at the sight of her.

Her smile was bright, her blonde hair glowing against her tan skin. She reminded me of a Daughter of Aphrodite—except with a furry backend of course.

As we walked out of the stable I caught a glimpse of a lake where there were several people canoeing and swimming.

"Mostly the Naiads use the lake. Besides that it's just for fun and canoeing lessons." Emily said.

We passed by an amphitheatre, with a stage that was absolutely _perfect_ for dancing and singing. My two favorite things.

And then there was an arena—which was really just a makeshift circle with some bleachers—where Casey said they had duels.

"You know: cabins and people challenging each other." She had said.

Then we headed back towards the big house and passed by the 'mess hall' which was actually a wide open pavilion, surrounded by roman columns. It was on a hill and faced the beach (I was guessing we were somewhere on the north shore of Long Island) It was a beautiful scene, with the sun still low in the sky. Being up here gave the view of basically the whole camp. I could even see the entrance from this far away.

There were a dozen stone—and very long—picnic tables. But there were no walls or roofs in sight. So much for mess _hall_, not _patio_.

"So what do you guys do when it rains?"

"It doesn't." Emily said carelessly. Okay, so what were we in a bubble? Cut off from the outside world?

"There's a protective barrier on us that makes bad weather go straight around us."

"Oh." It was all I could muster after hearing that. It was weird knowing that magic was real.

Then, finally they showed me the cabins. They were all in a U shape, facing the lake. Two at the base and five in a row on either side.

And they _weren't_ normal cabins either.

Besides the fact that each one had a large brass number above the door—odds on the left side, evens on the right—they looked _nothing_ alike.

Number Nine had at least a dozen smokestacks, like a little tiny factory. Number Four had vines and plants growing all over it, with a roof made of grass. Number Seven looked like it was made of pure gold. It was blinding me. And they all faced a commons area the size of about a soccer field. It had gardens and twelve statues for all the gods. It even had a basketball and tennis court.

I finally realized why there were twelve of them.

"Twelve cabins for the twelve gods?" I guessed, looking over at my friends. They smiled back.

"Yeap. Exactly. The children of the gods live in the cabin of their parent." Casey explained. We walked by the first two.

The first was the biggest and bulkiest of them all. It's bronze doors were awe-inspiring. It looked holographic and when you walked by lightning bolts seemed to strike across the shining doors. Then, the one next to it was white marble and had images of peacocks on it.

"Zeus and Hera, right?" I asked them. They nodded.

Number Three had walls made of rough stone with sea shells and rocks embedded in them. It gave off a salty smell, more pleasant than low tide in New York. It was strange.

But most of the other cabins were absolutely _packed_ with campers.

Like number five. It was bright red. Although I must say that the paint job was terrible, like it was splattered on like abstract artwork. On the roof there was barbed wire and a stuffed boars head graced above the doorway.

There were a bunch of angry-looking kids and teenagers in there and on the porch. Some were arguing, others were wrestling with each other. Some were just bobbing their heads to the loud rock music that was playing.

One of them—probably the loudest, ugliest girl I had ever seen—was wearing a shirt that was _way_ too big for her (even though she _was_ pretty muscular and bulky). She looked sixteen and wore a camo jacket. Her hair was brown and was long and stringy. And at that moment I felt like the most beautiful girl alive.

She stared at me for a second, giving me a sneer. I looked away. If stares could kill, I'd be dead.

"Come on," Emily tugged on my arm, "We'll show you to your temporary cabin… until you get claimed."

"O—okay." I stumbled along, trying to catch up to them.

We came to a normal-looking cabin, like the ones you see at a normal summer camp. It had a caduceus above the doorway, above the number Eleven.

"Here we are, Cabin Eleven." Casey smiled. "The Cabin of Hermes. The God of Thieves, Travelers and Medicine."

Emily whispered in my ear. "Don't leave anything valuable laying around." She warned me. I nodded. This was just getting weirder and weirder.

We walked through the door way to reveal a scene I hadn't witnessed since the last time they showed a high school gym in a Hurricane. Everyone was close together, and cramped. People were on the floor in sleeping bags, bunking with each other and even just setting up camp in a chair.

I looked around to see the people staring at me, sizing me up. The guys were giving me the eye… that is until Luke walked over.

"Hey there girls," he smiled that amazing smile. My friends giggled like idiots again. All the other girls in the room did too actually. And then of course they scowled when he got closer to me and we locked eyes. I knew that look: JEALOUSY. Oh yes.

"She regular or undetermined?" A voice sounded from the crowd of kids. It was a little boy, about nine or ten years old.

"Undetermined… Whitney Parker, meet cabin Eleven." Luke said shortly. He was definitely more interested in talking to me. I was too busy almost gawking at his muscles. He was a few inches taller than me, I noticed. And, I had just started paying more attention to his…uh… build.

"I'll be your counselor until you're claimed, and you can have my bed for now. I wouldn't want those cuts to break open." His smile was warm and calming like before. It was such a kind act of selflessness. No one had ever done something like that for me before.

"Thanks… _a lot_." I laughed a bit.

"No problem." He led me over to a bed at the very back corner of the cabin. He had a night table and unlike the other beds he had his own sheets. They were light blue, the color of his eyes.

I realized that his hand was lightly placed on my back and smiled, knowing that everyone else was looking on in envy. Emily placed my bag down beside the bed.

"Oh yeah… you're gonna need some armor." He looked to Emily and Casey who grinned stupidly. "I was headed that anyway so I'll walk with you."

Casey and Emily seemed way happier than me. But I smiled and got the evil eye from some blonde girl reading an architectural book on the porch. She stared at me like I was Medusa or something.

As soon as we walked out the door I heard the whispers begin. I heard things like, "Who was that?" or "What was she doing with Luke?"

I looked up at him. He was at least six inches taller than me… and I'm only five foot one, so I'm sure it's more of a difference than that.

"Uh… maybe I should stay away from you; with the way those girls were looking at me." I laughed jokingly.

He took it as a joke, thank the gods.

His laugh was intoxicating. It made you want to laugh with him.

"Oh don't worry about them. Those are some of my stalkers." His tone got serious. I raised my eyebrows in shock.

"Oh…"

"Hah, I was just kidding. You _do_ go a little crazy not seeing other guys and girls sometimes. It's just the same people over and over again." He smiled and laughed with me.

Casey and Emily walked behind us. Somehow—call it best friend's intuition—I knew they were gawking.

It was me and him, walking side by side on a leave-covered path with trees swaying overhead. The light breeze blew my hair softly. The sun peeked through the leaves, hitting his face every so often. It lit up his eyes.

We were laughing and talking non-stop. Anyone—and there were people that were—walking by would figure that there was something going on between us. But I hoped this wouldn't be like high school… with all the drama and…

Speaking of bullies. The stringy haired girl that gave me the evil eye beforehand was walking straight towards us. She never looked away from me. Not once. And Luke noticed. She stopped right in front of us with her band of fugly Daughters of Ares. (Let's just say I knew from one look at that cabin that they were the children of Ares).

"Who's this scrawny little thing?" She sneered, addressing Luke.

My mouth dropped open. Look who's talking.

Luke started to talk. I stopped him.

"No, Luke. If she wants to talk about me like that she can say it to me and not you." I placed a hand on my hip, giving her my best attitude.

She mocked me. "Oh look, little Miss. Princess _can_ speak for herself."

Luke stared on in disbelief. So did Emily and Casey.

"Yeah, actually I can."

"You know that mouth could get you into trouble around here."

Okay _now_ she was pissing me off.

"And so could yours."

"You better watch it newbie. I could break you in half."

Luke started to step in. I held my hand out and stopped him.

"Really? I don't think you'd get the chance to, considering all that extra weight slows you down."

"Not even the armor can stop me!" She got angrier.

I smirked. "I wasn't talking about the armor." And with that I pushed past her, leaving Luke, Emily and Casey in her path of anger.

I turned around as I was walking away.

"Oh yeah and by the way, the names Whitney—Whitney Parker." I smiled victoriously.

She gave me the ultimate death glare.

"Friday night," she pointed a finger at me. "_You_ are _dead_."

"Pft." I laughed. "Right. We'll see about that."

As soon as she stormed off Luke ran to catch up to me. I was pretty angry, though I managed to control it around her.

"Uh… that was Clarisse… Daughter of Ares. And… you got her angry." He laughed, "Which isn't the best thing to do the week before Capture the Flag."

I brushed it off and spoke carelessly. "Eh, she couldn't catch me if she wanted to, I'm a dancer, with some pretty badass reflexes."

"Yeah but… she's had more training." He said hesitantly.

"Look, if worst comes to worst I can always run faster than her."

He smiled down at me, chuckling. "You know, I like a girl like you. Anyone else would have let me do the talking."

"Hah, thanks." I threw him a smile.

We arrived at the armory, a pretty large brick building, and walked inside. He led us over to the armor. There were leather chest shields and ankle covers. Basically all of them were brown.

He walked over to what looked like the 'women's side' and grabbed one. It was almost the color of my hair, a little darker. All of them really looked the same. They had weird things to cover the chest. It, uh, over-did the breasts a little bit.

"Here, try this on." He said before walked down the rows to find ankle and wrist guards.

I struggled to get it over the bandage without it hurting. But Em and Case helped and eventually it was on. It fit like a glove. And then I realized one: my friends weren't wearing any pants (it really started to sink in) and two: they were wearing the same armor over pink and purple t-shirts.

This was going to take some getting used to. Yeah. Definitely some time.

Luke started to walk back to us. He almost seemed shocked, like he wasn't expecting it to look good on me.

"Nice fit," he managed, handing me the ankle and wrist protectors. For some reason I felt like he wasn't just looking at the armor. "These are all the same size basically, so they're definitely gonna fit."

I took off the chest guard and realized it was a lot heavier when it wasn't on. It was at least a few pounds extra weight.

"The holder for your sword is there already, and it has a built-in quiver on the back and a few other holders… for knives and stuff."

"Thanks," I got locked in a stare again. We just stood there, gazing at each other.

"Okay! Why don't we go introduce you to some more people?" Emily broke the great moment. I rolled my eyes playfully. He laughed.

Yep, those were my best friends.

I just hope they don't get too jealous. Because, as I've seen at cabin eleven (and Clarisse), these demigod girls would be worse than Taylor Anderson.


	3. My Dad Talks To Me

"Come on, Whit! All the good seats will be taken!" Emily whined. My cuts still hurt and I was stumbling to keep up with my half-goat friends.

We were headed towards the mess hall. It was nearing sunset. The sky looked so beautiful, turning shades of purple, pink and orange.

"Alright! Hold on!" I laughed. "You know, it's times like these when I wish I was half-goat too!"

I finally caught up with them.

Casey nudged me. "Hey, there's a seat next to Lukey." She giggled.

I made a face at her nickname. "_Lukey?" _

She smiled dreamily, "Yeah…"

"Go sit with him!" Casey nudged me in the arm more. This was like the school cafeteria all over again.

I was reluctant. The shy side of me was coming out. He was just so cute and… and… it was like my first elementary school crush. I really like him, but I can't work up the courage to talk first. The tough girl part of me is saying 'Go! Do it! You know you like him!' but the shy girl part is saying 'Well, maybe you shouldn't I mean, there are those Hermes kids and those undetermined kids…'

It was true. This looked like High School. There were the in-betweens: Hermes, the preps: Aphrodite, the jocks: Ares, the woodshop and auto obsessed kids: Hephaestus, the artists: Apollo, and even those kids you never really pay attention to: Dionysus.

"Go!" Emily pushed me in Luke's general direction. I stumbled and saw Luke watching. He smiled and waved me over, patting a seat next to him. The outgoing side of me was starting to ease out as I waved back with a smile.

Everyone at the table turned to look at me as I walked over. There were some girls. A lot of them were guys. All the guys attempted a smile at me, but I just kept my attention on Luke.

I walked over and set down next to Luke, who started introducing me to everyone.

"These two guys are Travis and Connor Stoll." He said, motioning towards the two guys sitting across from him. They both had the same brown, ruffled curly hair and mischievous glint in their eyes. I took it they were actual sons of Hermes. They smiled like they knew something I didn't. I felt the urge to check and see if my bracelets were still on me.

"Hi there," one said.

"Hey," the other said.

I couldn't tell which one was which. It was evident by the look on my face.

"Connor's the shorter one," Luke blurted out with a laugh. "That's how you tell them apart."

"Hey!" The shorter one on the left shouted.

All Luke did was shrug and smile. "It's true."

Just then Chiron walked over with a cheerful smile on his face. He had to stand at the end of the table because we would never fit him sitting down. Clarisse was sitting with a bunch of Ares kids behind those twins. She faced me, giving her the perfect position to sneer at me. Her friends looked back, laughing. I raised my eyebrows, giving them the look. I made it seem like I thought they were weird. And, if they cared at all they didn't show it.

Finally, Chiron pounded his hooves onto the pavilion floor. Everybody fell silent, even Clarisse.

He raised a glass. "To the gods!"

The wood nymphs I had seen earlier today came forward with tons of trays of food. There were berries, fruits, veggies, and plenty of meat to go around. I'm pretty sure I even saw Pizza. They placed it on the table.

I grabbed some food, like everyone else. But then, I realized my cup was empty. Everyone else's was full…

"Tell it what you want." Luke explained, "Anything you want."

"Oh." I laughed.

"Coca Cola." I told it. And sure enough, blackish brown bubbling liquid rose from the bottom of the cup.

_Right now I can honestly say… I love magic._

"Okay, come on." Everyone started to get up… but where were they going? Luke led me over to a fire pit. People were throwing their juiciest pieces of meat… freshest bunches of fruit and veggies into the fire.

Luke dumped his juiciest piece of steak into the fire, "Hermes." He bowed his head in honor.

I came up next, throwing in my freshest bunch of grapes.

_To… whoever you are Dad. I love you._

Just then I heard a wistful voice inside my head. It was like someone talking in my dreams.

_As do I, my Daughter. I will claim you when the time is right._

Hm, that was strange… okay… so now at least I know he cares.

_Of course I care. You are my only child, Whitney._

I smiled to myself.

_Thanks Dad._

I walked back over to the table quietly. Luke noticed I had my dazed-looking face on. It's that stare that you get when you're thinking about something.

"Whit, you okay?" He asked, looking at me curiously.

I snapped out of it. "Oh uhm, yeah."

"It's your Dad isn't it?" He asked quietly. My eyes snapped up to his. He knew immediately that was it.

I nodded. "He's—."

"—talking to you?"

I paused.

"Yeah."

He smiled. "At least he's talking to you. That means he cares."

I managed a half-hearted smile back at him. "Yeah… I guess."

"You ever meet your Dad?" I asked him. He seemed to grow tense at the question. I was thinking of just letting it go. Maybe it was too sensitive of a topic.

"Once." He said shortly. I waited. If he wanted to tell me the story I figured he would continue. But he didn't. Instead he switched the topic.

"Don't worry, I'm sure your Dad will claim you soon. He wouldn't talk to you if he wasn't going to claim you… and for now… well… we're all basically extended family here." _Hm… dating my half-distant-cousin?_ "So we take care of each other."

I smiled, whole-heartedly this time. "Thanks, Luke."

Once everyone had finished eating Chiron stomped his hooves again to get our attention.

Mr. D sighed beside him. "Yes I suppose I'd better tell you brats… the next game of Capture the Flag is this Friday! And Cabin Five _still_ holds the Laurels!"

I saw Clarisse cheering. It sounded more like a battle cry though. Her whole table was yelling like banshees.

"Yes, yes alright that's enough! To tell you the truth I couldn't care less. But congrats. And also…"

"Whitney, stand up here please." Chiron called out to me. I immediately got up and walked over next to him.

"We have a new camper! Wendy Porter!" Mr. D shouted over the little murmurs that were starting to erupt.

Chiron whispered something in his ear. "Er—excuse me! _Whitney_ _Parker_!" He tried again.

"Alright! Now go on to your little campfire!" There was a pause. "Go on!"

The kids cheered. The teenagers got up lazily and followed close behind. Luke caught up to Chiron and I, who were talking about the possibilities of whom my father was.

"You went to an Academy of the fine Arts, did you not?" He asked me.

I nodded. "New York Academy of the Arts."

"Could be Apollo, the God of Music, Dancing and Artistry."

I shrugged. "I just don't like singing _that_ much. I don't even think I'm remotely good."

Luke surprised me by speaking up. "You could be Hermes' daughter." He managed. I knew he didn't want that to be true though. Then things would get awkward…

"Yeah but I'm not a good liar." I laughed. "And I couldn't steal anything to save my life."

Chiron laughed too. "Well you know, we'll never truly figure it out until we get a sign." With that he trotted off.

Luke led me to a seat in the amphitheatre. Apollo's cabin got on stage and started to sing. That was totally not me. I like performing… and don't get me wrong I'm a great performer… but I don't like to _sing_ in front of big crowds. Dancing is fine. Singing is not.

And as I was sitting there, eating s'mores and laughing and joking with Luke and his friends, I felt… at home.

Even though the past few days' events had been treacherous and crazy, I finally felt calm and… happy.

His friends accepted me, and tried to convince me I belonged to Apollo or Hermes but I wasn't buying it. I just laughed. I told them stories about the outside world (because most of them haven't been out of camp for years). They told me stories about the quests they went on. And I learned that Luke was the reason there were no more quests. He looked angry at them for mentioning it but then began to laugh about it. They weren't mad at him.

And then he told me how he got the scar.

"I went on my first and last quest, to the Garden of Hespiredes to steal a Golden Apple for my father. I was _going_ to bring it back to Olympus… but the dragon that was guarding the apple lashed out at me." He traced his finger along the scar. "So now I'm stuck with this thing for life."

I smiled. "It isn't that bad. It could be worse… and it doesn't bother me."

He looked like he appreciated what I had said.

"Thanks. Most people usually get the wrong idea about me when they see it." He admitted. I had no idea how. His smile was so warm and calming. How anyone could not like him was beyond me.

When the camp fire died and the sky turned dark we started to head back to the cabin.

"Cabin Eleven!" Luke shouted, holding his hand up.

A crowd of people followed Luke closely. They ranged from eight years old to even nineteen year-olds (who were fellow counselors like him).

We arrived at the cabin. Everyone settled down in their sleeping bags. I struggled to get into Luke's bed. It wasn't that it wasn't comfortable. It would have been if I didn't have one fourth of my body taped down. It was impossible for me to move with my mid-section wrapped so tight. And if I was on the floor those cuts would have been bleeding again.

I finally just decided to lay on my back, looking up at the wooden ceiling. I saw that it _used_ to be painted. Now only little dots of a bluish-gray color were left. It was almost the color of his sheets (which were very soft by the way).

As soon as I drifted off into a deep sleep I had the most vivid dream since when I was on drugs for a bad case of the flu. Not that it was bad, but it was pretty strange…

_It was pitch dark. I could barely see my hand in front of my face. The ground underneath my feet was moving, almost shifting with my weight. It felt like… sand? A soft wistful voice came across like the wind._

"_Whitney, you are destined to be great…" it said. It was the same voice from dinner. "You can make the darkness go away you know… you can make dreams what you want them to be."_

_I was confused at first. But I concentrated on making light appear, and sure enough light started to appear from all around me. The strange floor below me revealed to actually be sand. I was bare foot. It was strange. I was thinking about the feeling of being barefoot in the sand… wearing a light sun dress…_

_I looked down to see that I was wearing the very same sun dress that I had been thinking about. It was the white one I wore to my cousin's wedding._

_I imagined a beach… and it appeared. I could even smell the salt, feel the breeze and hear the surf. It wasn't like the normal dreams I've had… were I couldn't hear anything but voices unless my alarm clock was playing music._

"_You can control dreams, my dear." The voice said. And with that it left me to my beach._

_I thought hard about having a chair to sit on. And one appeared in front of me. I sat and imagined a Strawberry Coolatta from Dunkin Donuts and it appeared in my hand. It was a great dream… until everything I had thought up shattered. I mean, literally shattered, as if someone had take a rock to a car window. _

_My beautiful image shattered and left me again in darkness._

_This time a colder voice sounded, sending shivers down my spine. It wasn't my father's. It wasn't the same wistful dreamy voice I had heard beforehand. Now it was as painful for my ears as metal on a chalkboard. It hurt to listen. It sounded ancient, so ancient that I could hardly believe whatever it was, was still alive._

_The cold voice was laughing._

"_You shall prove to be very useful to me in the future, young demigod." His voice was enveloping me like a blanket. It was like he was talking through surround-sound speakers. I wanted to ask who he was but I didn't have to, he read my mind._

"_You will find out soon enough who I am." _


	4. Alright So, Who IS My Dad?

I awoke with a start. But when I went to go pop up in the bed I winced in pain, remembering my stitches.

What was my father talking about. I _know_ that was his voice. I can't explain it, but I just knew it was him. And what did he mean, 'When the time comes'? I was totally lost.

"Oh good, you're up." I looked up to see Luke standing beside the bed. He looked tired and groggy. His eyes were still half-shut.

He yawned. "Chiron wants to see you in the infirmary. Your cuts need to be checked." I looked at the clock.

_8:31_

I threw my legs off the side of the bed, throwing on a pair of flip-flops and followed him out the door.

It was moist outside, like the normal spring morning. Except for one thing… it was February. But then I remembered what Casey and Emily had said. Weather didn't effect this part of the valley.

The dew on the grass rubbed off on my feet and bare toes. The sun was peeking through the clouds. The air smelt fresh and new.

"By the way, thanks again for letting me use your bed." I said shyly.

He looked down with a smile. "No problem. I just hope you don't mind giving it back." He laughed.

I giggled—which is so unlike me. "No of course not, as soon as these cuts close up for good you can have it back. I promise… I feel bad already."

We entered the infirmary were a few groans were heard behind a section of cloth labeled: _Intensive Care_.

Chiron met us at the door.

"Hello there and Good Morning. Feeling better?" He asked me. I had no idea how he was so chipper this early in the morning.

I nodded and managed a yes.

"Well then come on now, let's get you checked out." He put a hand on my shoulder, leading me over to a bed. A wood fairy came over to the bed, with wings that sparkled and glinted in the fresh morning light. I blinked a few times.

"Hello there, sweetie, what's your name?" She asked sweetly.

I noticed Luke was gone. Thank Gods. I didn't want him seeing my mutilated mid-section.

"Meaghan." I managed.

She laid me back on the bed, staring to lift up my shirt. I noticed Chiron was still here. But he was a few hundred years old. He'd probably seen worse things than this.

"Oh, such a pretty name… means Pearl… you know your eyes look like the gray pearls of Atlantis." She said carelessly, as if Atlantis was a real place.

I looked up at Chiron as she started to un wrap the gauze. "Wait, Atlantis is _real_?" I asked him.

He chuckled. "Of course, that's were Poseidon resides."

I immediately woke up to that name. The foggy daze I had been in lifted and I finally remembered where I was. I was in Camp Half-Blood. I was a Demigod. I was attacked by a Fury. And I _was_ being talked to by a fairy and a centaur. Wow.

"Ow." I winced as she took of the last piece of cloth. I looked down. The cuts were reduced and less red. They were scabbing over.

"Oh! Those look wonderful! Let me just finish the scabbing and you should be good!" She said cheerfully.

But meanwhile I wondered what she meant by, let me finish the scabbing…?

My answer came when she placed her hands on my cuts—which were pretty sore—and they started to heal. Her hands started to emit a glow. It was golden and radiated a sort of heat.

By the time she was done I was totally healed. All that were left were three (and a half) scars, about five inches long, running diagonal on my left side. They were a lighter shade of my skin, like Luke's scar. Had she healed him too?

"You're all set hun!"

"Finally." I sighed, getting up off the bed normally for the first time in days. I felt good. I could move around and twist my waist. I let out another calm sigh, smiling up at her.

"Thank you." I couldn't hold back my happiness.

"Oh your welcome dear!" She floated away with a grin to go take care of the boy next to me who was groaning and moaning.

"Come on now, your first bow and arrow lesson is with me at nine-o-clock sharp." He grinned. "Be there with armor on and sword in holster, then I shall give you a practice bow and quiver set."

"Okay." I nodded, stepping out onto the infirmary's porch. "Thanks Chiron." I was finally happy and satisfied for the first time in a long time.

Maybe I _could_ get used to this… maybe this _was_ my home. I felt like I belonged here. Everyone seemed nice—except for Clarisse and her band of tomboys of course—and they all pretty much welcomed me.

So I went back to find everyone in the Hermes cabin awake and lively. I was surprised when a few of the older kids (my age) said hello.

Though, some of the girls just totally ignored me, which showed that they were undetermined, or else they would be jealous about me and Luke… because Luke would be their half-brother.

I grabbed my clothes for the day, a brown tank top for underneath my armor, and dark wash blue jeans. There was a curtain that all the girls changed behind, but Luke wasted no time with his guy friends, ripping his shirt off right in front of everyone.

And boy was it a sight. His six pack could probably _hold_ a six pack of Cola. It was obvious that he had been training for a _long_ time. He caught some of the girls staring and smiled. They giggled like idiots. But when he looked over at me I didn't move my eyes. I just kept walking, with my clothes on and hair down and a bit wavy. I knew he was staring. It gave me a great feeling inside.

I flipped my hair, going over and grabbing my sword. I clicked the tiny button. Everyone automatically looked over at me as I slid it into the holder.

I slipped the bracelet with the shield on it onto my wrist.

"Hey, you headed over to archery lessons with Chiron?" I turned to see who the voice was. It was a voice I hadn't heard yet. It was a girl's voice.

The girl had shoulder-length straight blonde hair and brown eyes. She seemed about my age, maybe a little bit younger. But she looked like Luke. Was this his half-sister? She had the same friendly, warm smile. Her eyes were brown, but they still twinkled with happiness and a little touch of mischief. A typical Hermes kid.

"Oh uhm yeah." I smiled, standing up from being crunched over my backpack. "You too?"

She seemed friendly, like her brother. "Yeah… my name's Melissa Moran by the way, I'm Luke's half-sister." She held out her hand. I shook it.

"Oh, nice to meet you… did you wanna walk with me?" I asked.

She nodded. "Sure."

We started to walk out the door when we were met by Luke himself.

"Hey, Meg I see you've met one of my sisters." He said, in a better more awake voice than earlier this morning.

I smiled, looking at his now covered body. He now had on a chest shield and ankle and wrist guards. Mine were longer and covered my shins and forearms more though.

"Yeah."

"Well, take good care of her, Mel." He laughed, running off with his brothers. I stared as he ran lightning fast to catch up with them, before breaking into a jog. He had the biggest calf and arm muscles I had _ever_ seen. And I hung out with dancers all the time.

"Take a liking to my brother yet?" Melissa's voice sounded from behind me. I snapped out of my daze.

"Oh!" I laughed, "No I was just—."

"Mhm," she smiled slyly, "You keep denying it." She winked. "See how it goes."

I laughed as we made our way down to the shooting range.

"Well he took great care of me…" I fought myself not to blush just thinking about his smiling face. She saw straight through me.

"Someone's blushing!" She squealed. "Look, I actually like you, so you're welcome to date my brother… those other girls are total idiots. But you actually try to act like you don't care."

I laughed, "Thanks… I guess?"

We got to the range. Chiron was waiting. There were a few people there, but the class hadn't started yet.

"We're just waiting for a few more people." He explained, handing me a practice bow and quiver with a set of a few dozen arrows.

Once those few more people showed up we started. Everyone started firing arrows. Mostly the class was full of Apollo's kids. I noticed their golden eyes. They were unmistakable.

The first shot I fired hit the bulls eye. Chiron looked down at me in shock, as did the other campers.

"Sorry," I laughed nervously. "I didn't even mean to do that."

"No, no that's quite alright." He murmured.

I heard a girl's voice yell, "Girl, you are _definitely_ Apollo's daughter!"

Chiron laughed at the voice, who turned out to be a girl with dark red hair and the same gold eyes as her siblings.

"We'll just have to wait and see."

"Don't worry," she assured me. "Apollo always claims his kids. We're the apples of his eyes." I laughed at the way she changed a singular quote into a plural one.

Later that day I was at a running class with some Wood Nymphs. A lot of Hermes' kids and Ares' kids were there.

They yelled start and I found that I could actually keep up with all of them—including the nymphs. They were dumbfounded—especially Melissa who witnessed my earlier experience with the arrows.

"Okay, so maybe you're my sister. Or… maybe an Ares kid?" I flinched at the thought. She laughed at my reaction. "Okay maybe not."

We finished the day's activities with rock climbing, at which I also excelled. And then it was time to eat again. But even after dinner and after the campfire, and listening to dozens of people giving different opinions about who my father was.

But none of their guesses fit me.

As I settled into bed that night I was still thinking about it. I just hoped I wouldn't get haunted by another dream.


	5. It Is Revealed

It was my first sword fighting practice at camp and I was scared to death. What if I got my head chopped off? I was definitely not going to be a good sword fighter.

And as I walked to the circle everyone was forming around Luke—the instructor for sword lessons—my doubt became even greater.

"Alright now, there's a bunch of dummies over there, go pick one and I'll be coming around to check on everyone." He yelled over the excited murmurs coming from the crowd. Most of the whispers were from the girls, who were obsessing over his muscles.

Melissa bragged beside me. "Luke's the best swordsman in three-hundred years." Her smile made me believe. Two other people agreed with her. But I believed her anyway. He _looked_ like he knew what he was doing.

So found a dummy of my own and started to practice hitting the rotating arms and legs (that were actually wooden pegs). I almost got knocked out a few times, but for the most part I was pretty good, considering I had never held a sword before.

Luke startled me after one strike.

"And you've _never_ even _held_ a sword before?" He asked me. I jumped, laughing nervously.

"No, never. Unless of course it was arts and crafts day in elementary school and I made a foam sword."

He laughed. "Well it sure doesn't look that way." He approached me, grabbing the hand that held the grip. My face got hot as his hand basically engulfed mine and he got behind me. "Try angling it different ways as you go along."

When another wooden peg came from the left he angled it differently then I had been doing, and hit it so hard that it swung back the other way.

"Woah. Thanks." I managed a tiny, embarrassed smile.

"Luke!" I heard some girls yelling for him and laughed.

"I think your fan girls are calling." _Woah, where did that flirtatiousness come from Whit?_

He grinned and rolled his eyes. "They better have a good reason for making me leave you." With a wink he was gone.

Wait a second. Had he really just said…?

_They better have a good reason for making me leave you_. His voice echoed in my head. I realized I was staring off in a daze and snapped out of it, glancing towards those girls that had yelled for him.

Obviously they weren't the prettiest lot. They were no children of Aphrodite, but they weren't Ares girls either.

_Whatever._ I pushed it out of my mind. He had basically said he didn't want to leave me. And that's what kept me from getting pissed off and jealous.

I slashed at the dummy some more, using Luke's strategy. It worked. The blade felt amazing in my hands. But half-way into everyone slicing their dummies into bits Luke called us again.

He announced we'd be doing pairs dueling.

"Okay campers! Time for pairs dueling!" He had to yell over their chatter again. Then he looked in my general direction, walking over to me. The girls behind me thought he was coming over here for them… but I saw the look on his face. He was only coming over to talk to me.

"I'll be your partner, since it's your first time." He grinned as the girls behind me aww-ed in disappointment.

"Aww! Lukey I thought you were gonna be my partner?" The girl behind me was definitely a child of Aphrodite. I could tell by the way she talked and called him Lukey. Plus, her looks. She was blonde, tall and beautiful. _What a surprise._

He smiled (I knew it was fake), "Sorry girls, new camper."

They walked away disappointed and jealous.

I laughed. "You really have yourself some stalkers."

"Those girls?" He shrugged. "They're all either Aphrodite's kids or daughters of Nymphs."

"You sure about that?" I asked jokingly.

He raised an eyebrow.

I giggled, "Never mind…"

"Alright so first things first…" he started teaching me thrusts and perries. I learned the right way to block a swing.

But then things got serious once I got used to it. I got close to hitting him a few times. But he managed to whack me with the side of his blade more than a few times. I felt the bruises coming, but for some reason my girly girl side wasn't escaping. I wasn't running off for ice, or complaining. No, I found I actually liked this. And I was pretty good for my first time.

"Keep your guard up, Whit!" He'd say. I would try to block him. I actually started to realize why my mom said I had ADHD. It was kicking in as I fought him. Suddenly I was taking all these things in that had never occurred to me before. I was sensing his movements and when he was going to do what. I could actually start to see his muscles moving, giving me a warning about what he was going to do.

I took in my surroundings, realizing where other duelists were fighting so I didn't bump into them.

It was amazing.

"Not bad for someone who's never even held a real sword." He admitted. Just then I lunged. He grabbed my wrist that was holding the sword, whipped me around and drew me back into his chest. I gasped out in surprised. His arm pinned me against him, and _my_ sword somehow found its way to _my_ throat.

"But not good enough to beat me." He laughed.

I dropped my mouth open. "Hah! And I thought you weren't cocky."

"Just a bit, never enough to piss anyone off… and by the way." He bent down close to my ear. "Make sure your opponent _never_ gets hold of your arms." his voice was so close to my ear I almost shivered. But it was the good kind of shiver, from being so close to someone you… like. His voice was pretty deep too… and for a moment sounded kind of sinister.

"I'll be sure to stay on my guard." I smiled as he let me go, handing my sword back.

We were still staring at each other with smiles as he yelled for everyone to take a break. I hadn't noticed before, but I was soaked in sweat (as was everyone else). I heard the Daughters of Aphrodite squealing behind me and Luke… something about him being sexy (Which I could actually agree with). I saw him grin knowingly.

I hit him in the side flirtatiously. He got what I was trying to do and started laughing and smiling. I made it clear to those girls that I was enjoying myself and he _was not_ interested. But they were determined.

As we sat under a nearby tree and drank our waters they still kept on staring.

"You know, those girls are beginning to get pretty annoying." I admitted quietly. He smiled but kept his eyes on me. That got them even more pissed off (on a count of he wasn't looking their way).

"Yeah well, I've been dealing with them for a long time… I actually think it got worse _after_ my scar." He chuckled lightly.

I smirked suggestively. "They must think that scar makes you look pretty badass."

He laughed, "Do you think it does?"

I almost turned pink. I had to look away from him. "Maybe a little."

We talked a little more before he called everyone to circle around him again. I saw a few of his guy counselor friends eyeing me.

"Alright now, if Whitney doesn't mind I'd like to show you guys something." He looked at me I nodded, stepping into the large circle. They backed off, leaving space.

"Now, I'm going to demonstrate a few ways to get a hold of your enemy's sword." He said. I knew he was going to say that.

He did it first in slow motion (the same thing he did to me earlier). All the girls glared at me when he did it. All the guys glared at Luke. It was a pretty funny situation to be witnessing.

"Okay, now in real time." He let me back up. "Ready, Whit?"

I nodded and we went at it. I looked at the crowd and saw surprised faces. Because, a few times I almost got him. But every near hit he blocked, even if it was at the last possible second. At times I thought he was cutting it close just to make me feel better.

And finally, he got the chance and grabbed my wrist again. Though it was inevitable anyways.

Again, I got the death glare.

We started again after he explained. But this time I got more used to his style of fighting, and eventually I could tell what he was going to do and when. I actually thrusted and managed to graze his side. He smirked, giving me a look and started to press me harder, going faster and swinging harder. He 'accidently' sliced me on the upper arm. I winced, but didn't stop.

And then… I don't know why… but I had this idea… I maneuvered around his sword and my blade pointed at his chest. Even my eyes grew shocked.

He just stared for a second, like he was having a flashback. He gave me the kind of look that I got when I was mistaken for someone else in school. I realized that when I did that gasps erupted from the crowd. Everyone was still entranced and appalled at what had just happened. Here was a guy that had been here longer than anyone else, and was called the best swordsman in three-hundred years, and I had beaten him. Even if it was only once. I did.

"Uh…" I didn't know what to do, so I lowered my sword. I laughed nervously as a voice shouted from the crowd.

"Beginner's luck!" The harsh girl voice sounded. It was Clarisse. I gave her a look, so did Luke.

"I don't know about that, Clarisse…" Luke was still in shock. I hoped he wasn't mad at me.

"Uhm… sorry?" I said mostly to the crowd.

He laughed, "Don't be sorry! Show me that again!" His voice and face seemed happy and cheerful again.

And so I did. And again I beat him.

And we tried it again.

But by the time we did it for the fifth or sixth time he had it mastered. And I was beaten. But he still smiled, impressed with my accomplishment.

By the end of practice, I was exhausted. Everyone headed back to the cabins to rest for the remainder of the early afternoon before the long-awaited game of capture the flag.

As I was sitting on the back porch of the cabin, Luke came out. I was staring into the forest behind the cabins. He came and sat beside me on the bench. It was a little too tiny so I was sort of squished against him… but I didn't mind…

"Hey, that was some great sword work back there." He complimented me as I snapped out of my thoughts.

"Oh yeah… Uh, I didn't exactly mean to do that." I admitted, leaning back. He looked over at me, as if to say, 'Really? Because it looked like you knew exactly what you were doing'. "And… I kind of wish I hadn't… your friends were giving me looks that could kill."

"Ah, don't worry about them… they think I'm invincible."

"It was like I murdered you or something." I laughed lightly.

"They take that whole sword-fighting thing really seriously. They probably look at you as a threat now." He leaned back, lacing his fingers together and leaning his head back on his hands.

"Oh great, that's just what I want to be known as…"

He chuckled. "Well you better watch out. Because during capture the flag I'm sure Clarisse is going to be out to get you… the funny thing is… I have a feeling you could beat her."

I laughed at his 'feeling'. It was ridiculous. I knew I would either have to run or… well… run.

"Right, Luke. Right…"

"I'm serious. You remind me of someone I knew… a very good friend… she was determined, like you." I had a feeling he wasn't going to tell me her name.

I raised an eyebrow. "She?"

"Oh no!" He laughed, "No, it's not what you think. She was like a sister to me." He cleared that up.

"Oh… you think I'm determined?" I asked with a tiny smile.

"Yeah, definitely. That look on your face when you were fighting me…" he laughed to himself… "It reminded me of Annabeth… or…" his voice drifted off, saying the name that he had yet to tell me.

"Well… I _am_ a competitive dancer…" I mentioned quietly. I didn't like to brag a lot.

"I know." He said simply.

My face became confused. "What? Did Casey and Emily tell you?"

He shook his head a little. "Nope. I can just tell. The way you move your body, the fast reflexes." I felt my face get hot when he mentioned the way I moved my body.

"Oh… you're good." I managed to say.

He looked over at me. There was silence. I felt him staring at me, so I didn't _want_ to look over at him… but I did any way. I have no clue _why_.

We locked eyes. And it wasn't like we were that far away from each other either. We were _right_ beside each other, so close that our sides were touching. So I couldn't even cover up the pinkness forming in my cheeks.

He smiled, his arms now spread around the back of the bench. I couldn't help but smile, and tore my gaze away from his sky-blue eyes. I stared out at the woods. He was still looking at me. It looked like he was day dreaming.

And then our moment was burst into by four other Hermes guys.

"Hey Luke! We were looking for you—oh." Their faces looked mischievous, like they thought he was 'scoring.'

"Oh, hey guys." He snapped out of his daze. "I was just—."

"—_riiiiiiight_." One said with a suggestive look.

"We'll just leave you two…"

"Oh no! Guys it's not what you think!" He looked at me, thinking he had hurt my feelings by saying that. All I did was laugh and back him up.

"Yeah, we were just talking." I said.

The snickered, "Okay… whatever…"

Luke hesitated before I nodded with a smile. He ran off after them, and I was left to think about what in Hades just happened. (I'm getting used to the Half-Blood sayings and quotes)

When we locked eyes it was like… a spark… or a tinge in my gut. I _never_ had that feeling before. It wasn't butterflies that I usually get when a crush of mine is around. It was a slight tinge. I can't explain it. It just felt… overwhelming… but… in a good way.

A few hours later—about an hour before dinner time—we gathered in our battle gear and armor. I had my sword. The quiver would slow me down. And plus, I was told we were in an alliance with Apollo. They would do most of the shooting.

Luke told me we were in an alliance with Apollo and Athena. Ares had combined with the smaller cabins like, Demeter, Dionysus and Hephaestus (and even the Aphrodite girls and guys).

The children of Athena (there were about ten of them) ran in with a silver painted silk banner.

The children of Ares (about ten also) ran into the pavilion with a red banner. I was slightly confused. Those were the flags?

"Do Ares and Athena always lead?" I had to yell to talk to Luke, even though he was standing right next to me. He struggled to hear me.

"Sometimes, mostly yeah!"

"Oh! Well… what happens when someone else gets it?" I yelled over the cheering and hooting.

"You'll see, first we have to get one." His grin was enough to make me giggle. But I held it back.

"We're on Athena's side, right?" I tried to confirm.

He just gave me a sly look, like he knew something I didn't. The fire glowed against his face, making him look kind of evil. For that one second his scar seemed to get deeper and darker.

I immediately shook that image from my mind. He wasn't evil… he was so nice and cared for me when I was injured and…

"We're in a temporary alliance with Athena. We're gonna try and get the flag from Ares… and _you_ are going to help me."

I widened my eyes a bit.

"I don't think you want my help." I admitted shockingly.

He laughed. "Yes. I do."

We gathered around Chiron who told us the rules. The usual for capture the flag except in Greek-War form.

A blonde, curly-haired girl that I guessed was about twelve or thirteen moved to the front of the 'army'. She and her siblings looked like they already had a plan figured out. And I wouldn't doubt that. Those Athena kids were total brains. Had they been in High School they would have been nerds and geeks for sure.

"Forward march!" She yelled, and we cheered and yelled and started to move towards a path to enter the dense forest.

The Ares team went the other way to a different path. They yelled back at us with crazy Greek sayings that I didn't even understand.

"Hey, by the way, you should watch out for Clarisse's spear. It's got electricity moving through it. One touch and your whole body goes numb." I widened my eyes as he told me. No one ever said anything about electric spears!

"Are you kidding me?" I yelled.

"Nope… and you're on border patrol. You have to guard the flag. I trust you with that."

My face was doubtful.

"I believe in you." Those words mean the world to me at that moment. It was amazing how a few little words could make me feel so good inside. It gave me the courage to fight.

He positioned me near a little tiny clearing. The flag was behind me, next to a tree. There was a creek gurgling in the background.

I put my helmet that was decorated with a blue plume on and waited. In the meantime I thought about what would happen if someone actually _did_ try to attack me.

What if Clarisse killed me? Would she be liable? Or was this all part of the experience? Was there even such a thing as insurance here?

And finally I heard a horn blow. Then, the clash of metal to metal. Swords slashing and shields crashing against each other.

I carried my shield… my Dad's shield. I think it gave me a little more confidence. It was like I had a piece of him there with me.

And, the shield was perfect for me. It was light, but had the greatest protection I had seen (compared to the others).

I heard rustling in the bushes in front of me and instinctively raised my shield. Then, five Ares girls burst out of the brush.

_Shit._

"Get her!" I heard the all too familiar grunting voice of Clarisse. I looked over to see that she was waving a five-foot long spear in the air like it was nothing. Her friends had regular swords, but that wasn't any better.

She ran towards me, charging like an ugly boar or something. Her eyes were narrowed into slits that told me she was out for blood. But by gods the girl was _so_ freaking ugly. I mean, tweezing your unibrow once a month would help a little bit!

"Let's see what you've got to say about this, Barbie!" _That's it._

_Even the Gods—including my father—should know that you _never_ call me Barbie, Princess or prissy._

Her friends came at me first, thrusting and parrying like Luke had, except they were more slopping and didn't really aim. But I knew better and saw every move coming. Maybe Luke was right. I was determined. Determined to kick some Ares ass.

I finished off two of them. Then, the other two came at me. I guess Clarisse was saving me for herself when I got tired. But I had a feeling I wasn't about to get tired. My adrenaline kept pumping and pumping. No, she was _not_ going to win this.

I took one down, and as I was knocking the other girl off her feet I heard yelling. I saw Luke running towards our side of the battle field with the red banner in hand. Elated yells were heard.

But I still had Clarisse coming at me. And as I fought, the flag was safely returned to our side. There were cheers, but then they realized me and Clarisse were still going at it.

Everyone—still excited and hyper—gathered around and watched.

I struggled to keep that spear from hitting my skin. I had never been electrocuted before…

_Hold out your hand. Trust your father._

That voice sounded in my head again. And for some reason I listened to it. And when she came at me, sharp and pointy side first, I dropped my sword. She looked happy, as if I had surrendered, but kept coming. Everybody thought that I had given up.

But just as she was inches from me I took a giant leap in terms of trusting of my father.

I held my hand out and prayed to my father. Just as she cried out in victory, about to spear me silly… there was silence.

There was silence? My eyes popped open from their scrunched position. I looked down to see Clarisse… asleep on the soft grass.

I glanced back at my allies. They stared on in disbelief. Even Luke looked appalled. Maybe he underestimated me. But wait… had I just put Clarisse to sleep?

Chiron was standing next to Luke. I guessed he had witness the whole scene. He had his bow in hand. His face was awe-struck.

But then I noticed something different. They weren't looking at me. They were looking somewhere above me of beyond me. Luke pointed and made a face at me. I finally got it, voicing an "Oh!" out loud and looking above my head.

The image was fading, but I caught it in time to make out a… bag? It looked like it was filled with something…

I stared, speechless over at Chiron. He simple stared back, not able to say anything.

"A sand bag… a titan… the prophecy," he mumbled. The blonde girl beside him stared, wide-eyed in disbelief.

I sheathed my sword, still staring at Chiron.

"My Dad…? Is…?" I didn't know what that sand bag stood for… what god was represented by a sand bag…?

Everyone knelt before me… even… even Chiron. My mouth dropped open slightly.

"Let it be revealed that Whitney Parker is a Daughter of Morpheus!" Chiron yelled. Whispers carried across the wind. Murmurs erupted in the crowd.

This was all just happening so fast… I barely had time to think before Luke was standing before me with Chiron and the blonde girl, and everyone else was gone.

"I can't believe he actually had a child…"

"Huh?" I asked, pleading for answers I didn't have.

"Morpheus is a Titan God… in the prophecy it said…" but suddenly he stopped himself. I looked up at him pleadingly, begging him to continue.

I looked over to Luke, who couldn't even say anything. I noticed the girl standing next to him—a blonde from Athena's cabin—shifting nervously, as though she had something to say.

We started to walk, Luke on one side of me, Chiron on the other.

"So what I am? A misfit now? What was that reaction all about?"

"Oh, no, no, no! Certainly not! But, now… there is only one more thing that has to happen for the prophecy to come true…"

"What prophecy?" I interrupted. But the blonde girl ignored me and started talking to him.

The blonde girl spoke up. "Chiron… it said…"

"Annabeth." He stopped her short. "We must not speak of that aloud yet. She will learn her fate when it is time." My fate? Was I supposed to die or something?

"What? What fate? I'm not gonna die am I?" I asked Chiron, panicked.

He reassured me, "No, oh no, definitely not."

I sighed in relief. "But you mean to tell me you can't explain what's going on?"

He looked away from me, gazing off into the trees. "The time will come, my dear, the time will come…"

That night I had another one of my vivid dreams. Of course, now that I was revealed to be the daughter of the god of dreams I had more control over them.

I made it so that I could see my father this time. We were in the woods surrounding camp. It was dark out and I could make him out as a young man with sandy blonde hair and some stubble on his jaw. His eyes were a dreamy gray, almost like mine.

He seemed to glow, too, as if light was simply streaming off his body.

His smile was comforting—as I was hoping.

"You need to know the truth, Whitney… your fate is entwined with the ancient prophecy." His voice was just as I remembered… dreamy and wistful.

"Tell me, father, please." I desperately wanted to know.

He nodded.

_A half blood of the eldest gods,_

_Shall reach sixteen against all odds,_

_And see the world in endless sleep, _

_The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap, _

_With a kiss from the daughter of the god of dreams,_

_Will his life be redeemed,_

_A single choice shall end his days, _

_Olympus to preserve or raze._

I blinked. He had said that in my head. So… I was the girl in the prophecy?

"Yes, you are." He confirmed.

I couldn't even answer him.

"You are very important, Whitney. Just wait… you will be a heroine."


	6. I Get A New Crib And Something Else

***A/N: Sorry it's a bit of a short chapter :( I promise I'll make the next one longer :D***

Sunlight streamed through the windows in the Hermes cabin. Muffled snores and sighs could be heard. I sat up in my bed, unwilling to go back to sleep. The clock on the far back wall said it was eight o' clock. Chiron and Mr. D were probably awake. The campers didn't have to get up until eight thirty.

So, I quietly slid out of bed and slipped on a pair of flip flops.

As I stepped out into the chilly early morning air I heard horse hooves clopping on packed dirt. Sure enough, when I looked down the dirt path leading to each of the male gods cabins, Chiron was calmly trotting towards me.

He had a thoughtful expression on his face as I approached.

"Whitney?" He asked with a chuckle. "The daughter of the god of dreams can't sleep?"

I would have laughed if the dream from last night hadn't been so… surreal. He saw that my face stayed serious.

"What's wrong?"

I took a breath and explained my dream.

"My dream… my Dad was there. He said," I spoke slowly, "He said I was part of the prophecy and told me some weird poem."

Chiron's expression changed from worried to just plain stunned. "I knew this would happen… it was only a matter of time before you father told you I suppose…"

"Chiron, what does it mean?" I asked, my voice on the verge of breaking. Tears of stress welled up in my eyes.

He rested a hand on my shoulder, sighing. "No one but the Oracle knows the true meaning of the prophecy. That girl is most definitely you… but the hero could be anyone… the cursed blade could be any sword or knife… no one knows."

My eyes scanned over the cabins. Mist was hovering around them. Everything seemed so peaceful now. I wished everyday could be like this like a dream.

Later that day I had lunch by the lake. Luke spotted me and came to sit beside me. He saw the sullen expression on my face. I hadn't seen him all day.

"Hey, has Chiron had a cabin made for you yet?" He asked, trying to lighten my mood.

I gave him a sad look. "He said my father would probably make one pop out of thin air… if he felt like it."

"Yeah, I get what you're saying. Gods are pretty selfish. They only care about themselves." He seemed to understand me perfectly.

I stared up into those clear blue eyes, lit up by the mid-afternoon sun. There was a touch of something behind those eyes… sadness? Regret?

"That one time you met your Dad… what happened?" I had the guts to ask.

His face contorted a little, like he strained to remember (or he didn't want to remember). "Nothing, he just…" he tried to force the words out. "Didn't provide the best excuse for not being there for me."

I laid my hand over his on the soft grass. He blinked up, locking eyes with me.

"I'm sorry," I said apologetically. I felt so bad it was like _I_ was the one that mistreated him.

He shook his head, tearing his gaze away from me. "It's fine… it's just, I… no one knows about that visit except for Annabeth… and Thalia," he mumbled the last name. I thought I heard Talia. "But… now you do… I'm sorry, it's just that it's hard to explain what happened that night."

"It's okay. You don't have to explain." I said gently. I was worried if I pushed him too far he'd hate me for the rest of the day.

There was silence.

I looked out at the lake. The water shimmered and glistened and sparkled. The naiads were sewing baskets underwater. Some campers were eating in canoes out on the lake. Others were going out for a swim to cool off.

I saw Chiron, standing at the edge of the pier. His tail flicked some bugs away. His back legs shifted. His upper body stayed still though, simply staring out at the water. His hands were on his, ah, hips (or shoulders, really). There was a serene yet valiant look to his face, as if he owned everything in Camp (which technically he kind of did). And the way he was standing there I would have believed he owned the place.

"I saw you go outside this morning… daughter of Morpheus couldn't sleep?" He chuckled lightly. I smiled a little more than when Chiron had said that joke.

"Well… put it this way… you know how all demigods have really terrible dreams when they're stressed or something weird is going on?"

He nodded.

"Mine are ten times worse." My face became sullen again.

There was a pause.

"You've been seeing your father, haven't you?" His voice told me he was certain that's what was making me act so strange.

I reluctantly nodded. I guess it was my time to spill some details. "Uhm, yeah," I said quietly, "He told me about the prophecy."

"Oh," he said a little too un-surprised. "Yeah, I figured he would figure out a way to tell you… Chiron, Anna and I already know about that… we're still waiting for a child of the big three…" he laughed slightly, "at least we can scratch you off the list."

I laughed a little, "Gee, thanks."

He chuckled lightly. "Just be prepared to kiss someone."

My eyes shot back up to his. I slapped him playfully on the arm.

He just smiled and laughed.

I noticed everyone heading back towards the cabin for their mid-afternoon break. As Chiron started to trot off the other way I heard Luke's calming voice again.

"You know, that hero's gonna be a lucky guy."

I laughed at his remark, getting up and brushing myself off. I stumbled back when I noticed he was getting _way_ closer than he'd gotten to me in these past few days. I was sort of confused for a second, that is until he wrapped one arm around my waist.

"Mind if I beat him to it?"

As he was bending down to my face I realized what he was doing. Yeah, I know, stupid, right? By the time he actually kissed me I was too stunned to pull back. He reached up his hand to caress my face.

It was amazing, really… kissing in front of a sparkling lake with no one around, the sun shining its brightest.

When I pulled away the first thing I did was look for witnesses. Then my face got hot. I giggled girlishly. Sure, I had been kissed before, but those Performing Arts guys were nothing compared to Luke.

He was just so charming and sweet… I couldn't help but smile just looking at him.

"I think that hero's going to be pretty jealous," I admitted with a laugh.

His smile made my heart flutter. I felt butterflies rising in my stomach.

"I would think so," Luke agreed.

Suddenly, I felt his fingers interlace through mine. His hand felt warm and comforting, surrounding mine. A smile never left my face as we walked calmly through the path leading back to the cabins. I was even more surprised when I suddenly realized there was something different about my surroundings…

There was a newly built cabin next to the last of the male ones.

It was your typical wooden cabin on the outside, except for the fact that it had about a dozen sandbags littering the porch. I raised an eyebrow in disbelief. My father is a real dork.

"Looks like you'll be needing your stuff," Luke's voice came from beside me. I stared on with wide eyes, only nodding to him.

I heard horse hooves stomping on the soft grass. I looked up to see Chiron trotting over with a wide grin upon his face.

"I told you he cared," he said wisely.

I smiled excitedly as he said, "Go on, take a look around your new home."

Without hesitation I darted towards the porch, stopping on the last step. There was a tiny little sandbag made of gold silk sitting in front of me. I knelt down, carefully picking it up. It fit in the palm of my hand. There was a tiny scroll attached to it by gold thread. I plucked it off gingerly, unraveling it to see letters written in tiny black script.

_To my beautiful daughter,_

_I hope you like your cabin. I have some surprises for you, including this one._

_The tiny bags of sand you see on the porch can be used to enter peoples' dreams as they sleep. Sprinkle some onto them and they will instantly fall asleep._

_Hope it helps._

_Love, Dad._

I winced at the last line, seeing as I had never heard or even seen those words on paper.

But I pressed on, walking up the last step and into the door.

It was amazing.

The walls were painted a dark shade of blue. The sheets on the one bed located beside a small window were a dreamy shade of blue-gray. There were no lights, only tiny orbs floating just below the ceiling. I thought of putting them on and they went on. I thought about them going off and the light dissipated. Even the ceiling was painted a dark blue color.

A plush light blue rug covered the center of the floor. It was a tiny cabin, but then again, I was a tiny person.

Chiron must have seen the look on my face, because he started to chuckle lightly. "I knew you would love it."

I turned around to face him, wide-eyed. "It's so… me."

"Well you know the saying… your parents know you the best."

Just then Luke walked through the doorway, nearly dropping my stuff in the process. He was so stunned he nearly walked straight into Chiron's backend.

"Oh my gods," he muttered, setting my things down beside the bed.

I sat down on the cot. It was surprisingly soft and cushy for a summer camp bed. Luke plopped down beside me.

"I'll leave you two… keep in mind that afternoon activities start at 2:00 sharp." With a wink he trotted out the door and was gone.

For a moment there was silence. I simply stared at the wonder that surrounded me.

"It's amazing," Luke said. "I wish my Dad had more style."

I laughed, "I don't think it's style, Luke… but he at least knows what I like."

We sat there for a while, just admiring my new space. It was amazing. I would certainly sleep better in this cabin than I was sleeping in the Hermes cabin.

"Well I gotta run… sounds like my Cabin is causing havoc…" and sure enough the sounds of kids yelling and shouting were heard from down a few cabins. They were muffled, but you bet we heard them. I found it hilarious that he actually knew it was his cabin.

"Okay, I'll see you at dinner."

Without warning he bent down and pecked me on the lips. All the blood in my body rushed to my face. I smiled and looked away. I knew if I saw that smile that I would fall apart into a fit of giggles.

As he turned on his heel and walked out the door I managed to looked up. "Bye," I called out with a smile.

He gave me one last cheerful glance, "See you later," and walked down the steps.


	7. I Get Some Good New And Some Bad News

***A/N: I hope you won't get angry when I say that I changed that prophecy I originally changed a little bit more… The way I have Whitney say it in this chapter is how I originally wanted to come out as. Read and Review! :D 3 ***

Over the course of the next few weeks I learned more and more about sword-fighting, archery and even learned the fastest way to run. I made some new friends, including the girl Annabeth—although, she still seemed wary of me. I figured it was because she liked Luke and felt like I was stealing him away.

I became better friends with Melissa, Luke's half-sister, and she introduced me to Connor and Travis Stoll. They were Anna's age, around twelve and identical twins. The only way I could ever tell them apart was when they stood together… Connor was obviously taller by an inch.

I also met a few satyrs, like one named Grover Underwood and another named Elliott Reeder. Clarisse still hated me, but her half-brothers often took the chance to talk to me. Suddenly I felt like a Daughter of Aphrodite. It was like ever since I started dating Luke and word got around, I was suddenly the prettiest girl in Camp.

And camp—in April—wasn't even full yet. Sure, more people had come back, since private schools end really early… but the most were coming in June.

So what am I doing right now to pass the time by? Training of course.

I decided to challenge myself for once and go against Luke. He promised he wouldn't go light on me.

He kept his promise.

No matter what I did he always managed to get the sword pointed at my throat. Every move I made he countered. Every fake out I tried he faked better. But I kept trying. And the Gods know I'm good at trying.

"Come on, babe, keep your guard up!" A smile spread across my face as he called me that.

I laughed, almost loosing the grip I had on my sword. "Hah! I love how you're calling me babe while we're pretending to fight to the death!"

He smiled that brilliant smile. "Well, it's only training, right?"

As he finished that remark I felt my wrist being grabbed. Suddenly I was lying on my back with the wind knocked out of my lungs. All I could see was the tree tops.

I coughed, "Luke!"

Without warning he fell to the soft grass beside me panting. "Well that was a workout," he slid off his Trojan helmet and flung it all the way to a nearby tree.

I sighed, finally relaxing my muscles. "Yeah, tell me about it."

"What? The dancer can't handle a workout like that?" he laughed, flashing brilliant white teeth and a perfect smile. I sat up a bit, backing up into a tree and leaning against it. A soft, cool breeze gently tousled my wavy hair. Little strands of my side bangs stuck to my face because of sweat. I figured I looked terrible, sneaking a peek in the reflection of my sword.

"Ew," I mumbled.

He sat up beside me. "Hm?"

I sheathed my sword before looking over at him. "I look like I've been fighting in the Sahara for five days." It was kind of true. I hadn't been getting a lot of sleep, which might seem ironic considering that I'm a daughter of the god of sleep. But it's true.

"You look beautiful," he said without laughing.

A smile made its way across my face. I know, it seems corny and cliché, the way he says things like that… but it makes me feel amazing. Every girl talks about that one guy that comes along that says she looks beautiful when she's in sweats, and loves her even more when she's a mess. I just never really thought I'd ever have someone like that.

"Oh, stop," I felt my face getting hot.

"What? You do," he said, still not joking in his tone of voice. He leaned over before looking around the woods for other demigods and kissed me. Now, when I say he's a good kisser, I don't mean like your high school sweetheart boyfriend. The guy is nineteen and if he was in the real world I would be dating a college guy. He tells me he's only kissed a few girls before me, but if you ever kissed him you would certainly think otherwise.

The way he does it just makes me smile again. I get butterflies in my stomach—and I don't mean the ones you get on the first day of school—they're the kind of butterflies that make you feel like you're flying. He makes my toes curl and my heart flutter uncontrollably. Every time we kiss it's like the first time all over again.

"Whitney," he said as he pulled away, "I love you."

And that's when my stomach did a three-sixty. For the first time in my life I was hearing someone else other than my mother—let alone a _guy_—tell me that they loved me. What did I do? I said it back of course.

"I love you too," I said with a smile.

He was nothing like my freshman boyfriend or my sophomore boyfriends, and definitely nothing like the middle school ones (maybe just as cheesy but not as immature). None of them had ever said that, even though my longest relationship last nine months freshman year.

I felt like for once I was being truly loved.

"Hey guys," a familiar voice rang out. I whipped my head around to see Connor Stoll standing a few inches from me. He was smiling mischievously, laughing a bit. "Sorry to interrupt, but Chiron wants to see Whitney in the big house."

"Were you there the whole time?" I exclaimed.

He chuckled, "_No…_"

"_Connor?_" Luke asked suggestively.

"Don't worry I won't tell," he whined, giving his older half brother a wink. He turned on his heel and ran off.

"He's gonna tell _someone_." I said with a roll of my eyes.

"Well everyone knows so…"

"Luke," I laughed, "People—well except for the Aphrodite kids—are oblivious in this camp. They probably haven't noticed a thing."

He smiled, "Alright, whatever you say."

We both got up, brushing ourselves off and grabbing our helmets. He somehow managed to intertwine his fingers into mine. I held back the blush that never seemed to stop around him.

Leaves rustled beneath my feet as we made our way back to the main trail. Birds chirped happily, weaving in and out of branches, and fluttering around cheerful satyrs. The dryads sang their springtime songs, bringing their trees and plants back to life.

I laughed as one stuck a white daisy in my hair. Luke leaned down to kiss my head.

As we entered camp there seemed to be even more people walking around than there had been in the early afternoon. Some were practicing sword fighting like Luke and I had. We passed by the archery range where the Apollo campers were hitting bulls eyes non-stop. In the basketball court they never ceased to make a basket.

Some Ares and Aphrodite kids were playing a friendly game of volleyball in the court. The Aphrodite kids immediately sensed the presence of a couple and stopped playing to follow us with their eyes. I got scowls from a few of the girls. Luke got the same from the guys. One girl screamed girlishly as the ball smacked her in the head, due to the fact that she wasn't paying attention to the game.

We made it to the steps of the big house, finally. They creaked beneath my gladiator fighting shoes. I let go of Luke's hand, peeking around the corner to see Chiron and Mr. D in their usual spot, sitting at the table playing Pinochle.

"Ah, there you are, Whitney," Chiron said without looking up from his cards. "Please, have a seat."

Luke started to turn around to leave when Mr. D spoke up. "You can stay, Lucas."

"Uh, it's just Luke, Mr. D," he tried to laugh it off. Mr. D didn't answer; he just concentrated on the game.

"What's the matter?" I asked as we sat down on either side of Chiron.

I put the cards down, giving me a solemn look. Mr. D looked almost mad that he'd stopped the game, but he put down his cards too.

"Whitney… we just need to know… what has your father been telling you in your dreams? I know you haven't been sleeping well." It was apparent just from my appearance lately.

I shook my head, "No. I haven't gotten more than four hours of good sleep for the past two months… he's been saying how I'm the one in the prophecy… he says I'll be a great goddess someday, stuff like that."

"What else? Anything else? Anything about who the hero might be?" He further inquired.

I looked up slightly, as if asking the sky for help to remember. "Uh… Not really…"

"Say the prophecy," he said simply.

I stared at him for a while.

"I know you remember it… subconsciously, that is…"

I blinked, suddenly remembering it. I had no idea how. "A half blood of the eldest gods, shall reach sixteen against all odds, and see the world in endless sleep, a hero's soul cursed blade shall reap. A single choice shall end his days, Olympus to preserve or raze. Yet by a kiss from the daughter of the god of dreams, shall his life be redeemed."

They all stared at me.

"Even I can't remember that whole thing," Mr. D said non-chalantly, flipping the page in a Winery Magazine.

"Well… there is disturbing news from Mount Olympus… they believe there is a child of the big three still alive and walking this earth right now. It can only be a child of Hades or a child of Poseidon… they are accusing that child of stealing Zeus's master bolt."

My eyes widened, "Woah, whoa, whoa wait one second there… you mean he just discovered one day that his giant electric lightning bolt was gone? _How_ does that happen?"

He sighed doubtfully, "He just never expected someone to steal it… and it cannot possibly be a god because they are not permitted to touch others' property. So, they are assuming it's a half-blood or a minor godling, due to the fact that mortals cannot make it through the ancient barrier of Olympus."

"That's crazy… why would someone steal it?" Luke asked, looking concerned.

Chiron looked just as worried and unsure as the rest of us—except for Mr. D of course. "I don't know."

"But what does that have to do with me?" I asked.

"If it is true, that a child of the eldest gods is walking around this earth… that means the prophecy could occur at any time… and if that child dies… then things are going to get pretty nasty. We are just warning you to be alert and ready for anything, Whitney." He assured.

I nodded slowly, sighing tiredly.

"Junior year isn't what I hoped it would be…"


	8. I Find Out About Thalia

I heard a different voice calling out to me. It wasn't my father's. It was that same raspy metallic voice that had come to me in one of my first dreams when I had just entered camp. It sent shivers down my spine even though I was dreaming.

Normally I would be able to control where I was in my dreams and what I saw and wasn't able to see. But this presence was so overwhelming and powerful that I could barely make myself move.

It laughed in a raspy ancient voice.

"What do you want from me?" I seemed to ask. I don't even know if my mouth opened.

_Nothing right now… though I do enjoy watching you turn into a powerful half-blood… and it __**is**__ very entertaining to see someone in love after about five hundred years in a state of vegetation…_

"Who are you?" I asked desperately. All I wanted was an answer.

_Oh now, I can't reveal that, _he laughed metallically, _that would ruin the surprise… you will see in time young demigod… you will see…_

I shot straight up in bed, just like every night. A thin glistening coat of sweat covered my body. I was heaving in breaths and yet still, it felt like I wasn't getting enough air.

I slid out of bed in my black short shorts and pink cami, padding over to slip into my black flip flops. It was time for a little midnight walk.

I crept along the back of my cabin, heading towards the lake. It was a shorter walk to get there than to walk all the way to the beach.

I suddenly realized it was still kind of chilly out. Even though Chiron has control of that weather bubble we're in most of the time, you can't stop mother nature altogether. I crossed my arms over my chest, stepping over a log.

I could see the light of the moon reflecting on the black surface of the lake. There wasn't a sound as I finally reached the shore. All that was heard was the waves lapping at the pepples.

I debated going onto the pier but decided to lie back in the grass instead. Hopefully I wouldn't fall asleep.

"Whitney? Is that you?" A voice rang out behind me. I nearly fell into the waves, sitting up and turning to look behind me. I figured it was Luke out for a nightly jog. But when I turned around it wasn't Luke I saw… it was Lee Fletcher from the Apollo cabin. And he looked just as beat as me.

"Uhm, yeah… why are you out here?" I asked, relaxing a bit.

He sighed, plopping down beside me. "It's my dreams… my Dad's also the God of prophecies, so me and my brothers and sisters have been getting the brunt of the bad visions about the great prophecy."

"Oh… so I'm not alone," I laughed a bit.

"Well every demigod has nightmares during times of stress… why, how bad are yours?" he asked curiously.

I laughed, "I might be the daughter of the god of dreams, but that only makes the nightmares ten times worse, Lee."

"Wow. I would've expected the complete opposite… your father doesn't give you good dreams for the most part?" He plucked a stone from the short patch of sand and flung it across the lake. It skipped at least ten times.

"Nope… in fact he hardly visits my dreams unless he's bored and has nothing else to do… I can control them, but not when they get really bad." I picked a stone up, flinging it across the lake. Mine only skipped three times, but it was something. I'd skipped rocks numerous summers with my cousins down in Florida.

"Nice throw," he chuckled, picking up another one and flinging it even farther this time.

"Thanks."

I could grow used to the kid. He didn't try to hit on me like the rest of Luke's friends. He wasn't overwhelmingly tall or muscular. He didn't seem like a bad person to talk to either.

"Hey, Lee?" I asked, thinking he might know something I've been wondering.

"Yeah?"

"What do you know about that whole situation where the daughter of Zeus came to camp… and didn't make it? I mean, Luke never wants to talk about it and I have no idea why he always gets so bitter when I mention it."

He stared at the grass for a long time before sighing. "Yeah, Luke took that the hardest… Well… him and Annabeth and Thalia—daughter of Zeus—were being escorted back to camp by Grover Underwood—a satyr. And… when they got half way up the hill there were already about a dozen monsters on their tail. Thalia made her final stand, defending Annabeth and Luke and Grover, so they could make it inside the archway.

"But why?" I asked, "If they were right there…"

"It was too late. Luke said by the time they stopped bickering about it the monsters had closed the gap… if all of them turned to run they would have been crushed or shot or trampled… Thalia told Luke something before she died, too… Some to the effect of: 'I would rather die than be hunted like an animal all my life'."

I blinked, staring up at him for a long time. So that's why Luke wouldn't talk about it.

I looked back down at the grass, pulling some blades of green from the ground. "Luke uhm… liked her, didn't he?" I asked, cringing even as I simply asked that.

His face seemed to be searching for the right answer. "Not sure, but he did care about her a lot… They all made a promise when they first met, he told me… that they would be a family and never let each other down… and when they let Thalia down it hit him really hard… I'm gonna admit he's never really been the same since then."

I gave him an odd look, "What do you mean, not quite the same?"

"Well… he was always happy and cheerful around all of us. Lately it's just you he's happy around." He looked up at the night sky thoughtfully.

"Oh," I said sadly.

I had no idea he'd changed that much. To them, that was a big change I guess… but I'd only known him for a few months now.

"Well, I'm gonna head back to my cabin before they realize I'm gone," he chuckled, "at least you don't have to worry about that… 'night, Whitney." He got up, brushed his black pajama pants off and headed towards his cabin.

"G'night, Lee."


	9. I Help Save A Kid's Life

It was late in the evening in June. The night was dewy and cool. I sat with Luke on the front porch of the Hermes cabin. Campers were hanging around, looking for things to do before bed. More had come back, from public school. Now the Hermes cabin was even more full. I felt kind of bad for Luke, who had to deal with them all… but at least he got his own bed.

We had a few new ones come in with satyrs. One had been claimed as the Daughter of Hypnos. He's the God of Sleep, and works hand in hand with my Dad, so she was placed in my cabin. Her name is Nikki Pizzi (Nikki Pete-zee) and she's eleven years old. She's become like my little sister. Her hair is a little darker brown and her eyes are black as night; big as ping pong balls too, but she's exactly like me. I was surprised that we get along great.

"There's so many kids now…" I said, looking at a bunch of pre-teens standing in a circle near the gardens.

Luke laughed lightly, "Yeah, just get ready for this summer. There's more of them coming in than ever."

The girls started to giggle as the boys teased them.

"Are they claimed yet?" I asked, nodding towards the kids.

He stared out at them thoughtfully, "One is a Daughter of Aphrodite… not surprising—there's about ten more of them every year… and the little boy with the curly brown hair is another Demeter kid… I don't exactly know about the rest…"

"Wow," I mumbled.

Just as everyone was heading back to their cabins—and I was saying good night to Luke—Annabeth came streaking down the trail towards the cabins. She was headed straight for us. We both sensed something was wrong.

"Luke! Whitney!" She yelled as everyone piled into the Hermes cabin. "Come here!"

We exchanged a glance, starting off towards her.

"Andrew!" Luke yelled, "You're in charge!" He told his eighteen year old half-brother. The blonde nodded, smiling like he was expecting that.

"What is it, Anna?" I asked, pulling Luke by the hand to make him walk faster.

She glanced down at our hands, "Uhm… there's a boy that just arrived… he's hurt… bad…"

We jogged through the trail and up to the big house. The steps creaked as we entered the threshold. "Chiron?" Annabeth called out.

"In here," he answered.

We followed her into the room where I had first been taken. It was near the back porch. I remember getting carried in here by my satyr friends, Emily and Casey. Everything was the same… except for the limp body of a half-blood boy lying on the cot instead of me.

His hair was glossy and black, and stuck to his forehead due to sweat. He was bleeding from his side, like me. I guess that happens a lot though…

He looked a bit wet… my best guess said it was raining outside the bubble of camp.

"Oh my Gods," I mumbled. He looked like he was in bad shape.

"What's that in his hand?" Luke asked Anna, pointing to something pointy and white.

Annabeth gingerly plucked it from his hand, holding it up. "A minotaur horn… he must've gotten attacked by the minotaur," her eyes got wide.

Luke stepped forward, putting a hand to the boy's forehead. "He's getting cold," he said in a concerned tone. "Go get some bandages, Anna… Whitney, go get some ambrosia and nectar."

We both nodded and walked off in different directions. I went to the first aid closet, which was filled to the ceiling with ambrosia and nectar, among other healing potions and medicines. Grabbing the ambrosia and nectar I rushed back into the room. Luke started to prepare the nectar, getting a glass from the kitchen.

Chiron stood in the doorway, whispering in hushed tones with Mr. D. Mr. D looked slightly concerned, but not enough for anyone to believe he actually cared. I knew he wouldn't want them to know that. After all, it wasn't part of his character.

"Whitney, can you help me with the bandages?" Annabeth asked from the other side of the bed. I nodded and walked around to the other side of the bed. I held his leg up while she bandaged a small slash from a thorn. No doubt he'd been running through the woods.

We wrapped about ten other minor cuts before wiping our foreheads in exhaustion. Anna started to wipe the dirt and grime from his face as Luke took my hand and led me into the sitting room, where Mr. D and Chiron were still talking under their breaths.

"He's no normal half-blood—" That was all I caught from their conversation before they stopped, looking up at us. I realized I was still holding Luke's hand and let go awkwardly.

Mr. D's eyes didn't even have to look back at me to know what I just did. "It's quite alright, Whitney, everyone in camp knows you two are seeing each other." I rolled my eyes as a slight smile made its way onto my face for a second. "I saw that." He said. I gave him a look. He only laughed.

He's been treating me very well ever since I helped him with his sleeping issues. The poor guy hadn't been getting a good night's rest in a while. But after one session with the daughter of the god of dreams he was fine. He even has a nick name he uses when no one else is around… dream girl. I know, not like him right? But the Gods know how to repay someone who's helped them.

"Okay, I thought I'd seen the worst after what happened with Whitney and the Kindly One… but a minotaur? This kid's got to be something special." He insisted.

Chiron nodded. "I certainly sense something strange in him… the minotaur usually saves his rage for very powerful demigods… I will ponder this overnight… why don't you two go get some rest?" He dismissed us and we walked out of the big house, the porch steps creaking as we did.

"Okay… that was totally normal…" I mumbled.

Luke chuckled. "You know, that's kind of how it was when _you_ showed up… we'd never seen a Kindly One attack like yours before… I guess that's how we knew things were starting to change… the prophecy was coming to pass."

"Is everyone nervous about that?" I asked. Though, I already knew the answer. I just needed assurance.

"Yes," he said, shortly.

I sighed, "It feels like I'm a part of something… bad… I can't explain it… it's just… a feeling…"

"How have your dreams been?" He asked, squeezing my hand. "You know all the kids in my cabin have been absolutely tortured by nightmares lately…"

I bit my lip. I didn't know if I should say anything to him. For some reason… it felt like he was the wrong person to tell. But I shook off that feeling. He was one of the only things I had left, besides Emily, Casey and my mom. I just keep telling myself I can trust him.

"Well… they've been… stranger…"

"Stranger how?"

I looked around, as if the trees could help me spit out what I was trying to say. "There's this voice…"

He stiffened. I noticed and we stopped at the steps of the porch on my cabin. He stared down at me, with a strange, nervous expression on his tanned face. "You too?"

I nodded.

"So it's not only my siblings and me…" He glanced around thoughtfully. "Have you… talked back?"

"I said I wanted nothing to do with it… but my father keeps saying I should trust the voice…" I took hold of his other hand. "But I don't trust it… do you?"

Luke made a strange, strained noise. It's one of those sounds that a person makes when asked something they know they have to tell the truth about. His expression went from nervous to serious. "I trust it more than my father."

With that I shook my head. "Okay, I'm going to get some sleep…"

I went to simply peck him on the lips. But he spoke before much could be said.

"Whitney… if I ever did anything… anything that the other campers didn't like… would you stay with me?" His eyes turned soft, staring down into mine.

I got emotional just thinking of losing him. "Of course… You're one of the only things I have left, Luke. I would never abandon you, just like you'd never abandon me."

Satisfied with the answer he got, he leaned down and kissed me sweetly on the lips. I suddenly felt something slip onto my wrist. When he pulled away he whispered. "Don't look until I'm gone… we'll talk in the morning." With one more kiss on my forehead I heard his steps rustle across the grass. They grew fainter and fainter, until I didn't hear anything at all.

Upon opening my eyes, I definitely knew I was right. There _was_ something on my wrist now. I went inside and flicked on the lights. Nikki groaned and turned over in bed. She's an early sleeper.

It was a gleaming gold bracelet. It was simple, and looked hand beaten into shape. Designs of flowers with a heart for the focal point were etched into it. I swear I almost cried. But I managed to get dressed, and get to bed by curfew. Chiron peeked in and checked, like every night. Except this time, for once, I was smiling in my sleep.


End file.
